Getting clear on what you want and why, is an incredibly powerful thing to do. By identifying what you want on a soul level, you’ll orient yourself in the direction of it. You’ll probably find blocks in the path but at least you’ll be heading in the right direction.
In this post, I’ll give you exercises and writing prompts to help you get clear on where you want to go and begin moving towards it.
I promise there’s a good reason for the 1980s leotard picture as well.
Are you living with intention?
Do you feel like you’re heading in the right direction? Or are you, perhaps, going round in circles? Or lost? Or stranded at some life location you never wanted to visit?
Your intentions are the address that’s programmed into your internal sat-nav. But if you haven’t checked that destination recently, you might be going somewhere unexpected.
For example, you might think you want a partner who loves and respects you. Consciously, that’s exactly what you’re looking for. But, when you were a child, you didn’t witness anyone close to you in a healthy relationship. The world taught little you, ‘relationships are hard work but everyone needs one’. So, you set sail for that destination. You didn’t know there was anywhere else to go.
Now, as an adult, you’re looking out for that healthy relationship. That’s what’s happening on the surface but intentions live deeper than that. They control the direction of travel. Regardless of what you’re looking for, you’re still moving towards the destination set when you were young.
This doesn’t just apply to relationships. If there’s any area of life where you’re unsatisfied, get clear about what you want. Then you can reset those coordinates.
Here’s how
The theme of my upcoming workshops is ‘living with intention,’ so I’ve spent some time this month examining my own intentions. I found ways to head into my own distant past and uncover what little me wanted.
Little Gill, who hadn’t been programmed by the world, wanted what she wanted without restriction. Our intentions are so pure when we’re children. We want to enjoy ourselves and we follow what feels good, un-self-consciously (if we’re lucky enough to be well looked after).
I wanted to know what I was drawn to before I was programmed by the world around me. If you’d like to find your raw, pure and original life intentions, try these exercises.
Rediscover movies from childhood
I don’t remember being 3-years-old but I do know that, around that age, I started watching Annie obsessively. That phase lasted years, in fact. Doris Day’s Calamity Jane was my other favourite.
I watched both of those movies so regularly that I can still sing every song, almost 40 years later. So that’s where I started.
I really recommend this exercise. If there was a film, a TV show or an album that you devoured, on the regular, revisit it. Notice how you feel when you do.
What do you respond to? What part of you responds? 42-year-old me discovered that Annie still really holds up and that Carol Burnett’s Miss Hannigan is genius. There were moments though, when little Gill piped up and thought ‘I want to be like her,’ when the little girls were on screen.
In those moments, I witnessed my inner child. I felt her joy and I knew what delighted her. This was valuable information.
Writing exercise: put your movie on. Scribble or doodle while watching, or immediately after. Give your inner child the freedom to note down what they love about this film and why.
Make a puberty playlist
This is a great way to get out of your head and into your body, where the juiciest information lives.
I don’t remember much about starting my period. I do know it was an emotionally challenging time. So, I used Spotify to create a playlist of songs that I listened to at that time, then I danced to it in my kitchen. And cried.
It was a big release. I felt my frustrations and the emotions I grappled with, as well as the things I loved. The blocks that still stand in my way 30 year later me now, were forming while I was listening to those songs. This playlist helped me to shake a few of them loose.
You can choose any time from your life that you’d like to revisit. Though puberty is a powerful transition for all of us, so I recommend giving that age a go. If you have Spotify, it’s great because you only need to remember a few songs and the app will suggest related ones. I discovered some doozies. If you don’t, I’m sure YouTube can throw you a playlist from any chosen year.
Writing exercise: dance first, write second. Let yourself move in any way you want. It doesn’t have to look like dancing. Your body will move you in the ways it needs to. If the only private place you have is your bedroom, that’s perfect. It was probably the same when you were going through puberty!
When you’ve been fully immersed for a while, write a letter. Address it to someone you were good friends with at that age. Tell them what you want from life. Tell them what and who you love.
What you’ll learn and what to do next
You may well find that you have a lot in common with your childhood self!
As I suspected, I found that I still want the same things. I want to be Annie – lead performer, centre stage, confident and using that confidence to help those less able to stand up for themselves. I’m a Leo through and through!
I feel a bit daunted by the discoveries I made. Writing them for you felt vulnerable. But I’ve already started making decisions in my life, that move me toward them. Like making opportunities to host workshops and speak in public, on subjects that help people. I’ve got some bold, creative moves up my sleeve too, that will put me out of my comfort zone and take me to new, exciting places.
The apprehension I feel shows me where I’m blocked. And there are exercises in The Soul Scripting Process that will help me move through those.
Let me know what happens when you watch your movies and dance to your playlist. Then meet me back here, or inside my Facebook group. I’ll be adding more exercises soon.
Live sessions:
Join me Wednesday 22nd Feb 2023 for an online Soul Scripting workshop (the replay is available for a week). Join me Wednesday 1st March in West Kirby, Wirral. You’ll find all my upcoming workshops here.
Online course:
Sign up to the Soul Scripting therapeutic writing online course. I’ll guide you round the whole process, from connecting to your intention, to experiencing what it feels like to live the life you want. You’ll be amazed where your notebook and pen can take you!