Are you misaligned?

You have a free will.
You are a sovereign individual.
It’s one of the greatest gifts of humans that we have.

We have the power of choice.

Without wisdom, we can stumble into trouble.

With wisdom, we’ll lead to a prosperous life.

Looking back on the stack of failures I lugged around for far too long; I noticed something crucial that I ignored too many times: I wasn’t listening to my gut feeling. My inner principles for living.

Recently, I was chatting with someone who wanted to get into a business deal. When this entrepreneur explained the structure, I could tell there was (internal) conflict.

This person would have to force his way into it and go beyond his internal boundaries to make the deal happen. It was all force. If he had persisted in making this deal happen, there would have been strong cognitive dissonance.

Cognitive dissonance is when our behavior doesn’t align with our values. We act a certain way and feel an “ick,” which is cognitive dissonance.

I suppressed that feeling way too much to my detriment. Behaving outside of our internal values will eventually drown us.

Good Stewardship is building from a place of alignment. Alignment gives us sustainability. Why? Cognitive dissonance is an incredible force of destruction.

Here’s a takeaway.

Determine your values, set them before you, and operate according to those values.

When you’re faced with a situation and feel that internal discomfort, examine it. Revisit your values, for they are your compass.

Here’s why most people won’t do this: fear.

1. It’s not comfortable to listen internally.

2. It’s easier to suppress those thoughts and feelings.

If your heart and intuition want to go in one direction, but your actions are going in a different direction, pause and assess.

We all have an internal value system. Do you have clarity on yours, and do you listen to it?

Patterns of decision-making.

Misalignment:

What are the underlying motivations?

Misaligned decisions come from scarcity, lack, and greed. Here’s why: When we make a decision that doesn’t feel right, pull the string, and it will go back to the root of fear.

Alignment:

The underlying motivation is rightness and adhering to predetermined principles of wisdom.

Want to be a Good Steward of your business? Make aligned decisions. It might seem crazy to others, but it will be right, and that’s what’s most important.

Exercise

1. Write down your values

2. Review your values

3. Ask, do my actions align with my values

The more I adhere to my values, the better I feel. It taxes our system when we don’t have a “clear conscience” (misalignment).

Operating in alignment invites greater levels of peace and joy.

That’s it for this week. Short and sweet. 😃 

Would you like me to write about a specific topic? Please hit reply and let me know.

Chris

P.S. Want help growing your business? Let’s chat.