I have always been ambitious. I am the person who used to set New Years resolutions and say: I will go on a walk every day, learn Italian, brush up on my Spanish, start a business, finally get that six pack and become financially free!!

Did I ever do all those things? What do you think? No. I never did. What I did do by declaring to just “do more” is burn myself out and accomplish nothing. Fun times!

What I’ve learned from several years of diving deeply into personal development and knowing myself really well is that my heart will tell me what I should be focusing on if I just listen. “Ugghhh Mare, that sounds so woo woo! LiSteN 2 Ur HeArt? What doEs ThAt EvEn MeAN??” It means that I learned to trust myself. I learned to trust that even with a set of ambitious life goals that I had to trust that if I chose what felt best to me at the time to focus on, that it would lead me to everything I’ve ever wanted. So far, it has worked out and I have never felt more at home with myself in my entire life.

So, here are my favorite practices to bring me to a place of alignment and trusting myself.

1. Go on a walk (outside if you can) without electronics. If it’s safe for you to go alone, do it.

How long have you been sitting inside your house? If you work from home at all, this is a big one. You need to change up your environment. Walk away from all the screens. Try walking without your phone and a podcast blasting in your brain. Try just being with yourself during the walk. Notice the smells, the feeling of your feet on the ground, the sounds of the birds. We miss out so much because we are fed a lie that we need to constantly be plugged or entertained. This is false. Learn to be alone with your favorite person aka yourself (because, let’s be honest, you’re pretty cool). Give your brain some space to breathe.

2. Read before bed. Swap scrolling for your book.

What? The bright light of your phone isn’t lulling you to sleep? Weird. Try reading 10 pages of a book when you get in bed. I would say it doesn’t really matter what you read but for me personally, I prefer something that is a little mindless. I don’t need to be overly stimulated with a personal development book filled with ideas right before my head hits the pillow. The entire upper portion of my Human Design chart is colored in, I do not need any additional intellectual stimulation, a nice fictional book or a memoir about living in the countryside of France will do.

3. Journal Practice

You need a place where you can write down your thoughts and ideas. There are about a million ways the internet will tell you to journal. There isn’t a “right” way to do it but I will share what I do here in case you need ideas. In the morning, after I meditate, I write in my journal right away. It’s usually a stream of consciousness but I am specifically writing to God or the Universe (using these interchangeably here). It’s like I’m writing to my best friend and just downloading all of my thoughts. Sometimes that’s a prayer of “help me see this thing differently” or something I’m grateful for, it’s really just whatever is on my heart. I write until I feel like I’ve got all my thoughts on my paper and close my journal for the day. If you want bonus points (and I am a Leo sun & Virgo Rising so yes, I want bonus points) write in your journal at night. Download the days thoughts, highlight the good and write down what you want your intention for the next day to be. Then, sleep soundly because you didn’t just throw your head on your pillow and your eyes pop wide open because you have so much on your mind; it will all be in your journal.

4. Watch a movie or show without picking up your phone

Look, this one might sound silly but hear me out. How many times have you picked up your phone to scroll while watching a movie with your partner or your friends? My guess is a lot. You can’t be present in experiencing a movie and engage in conversation about the movie if you are watching your millionth dog video of the day. Being present with your people no matter what you’re doing is going to leave you with an experience that’s so much more memorable than if you are scrolling on your phone every 5 seconds. You can watch the hilarious dog videos later, promise! Love me a good dog reel.

5. Eat dinner without your phone

Honestly, same as above. If you are committed to being present with yourself, be committed to being present with the people you love. We live so much of our lives in our heads, get out of yours and talk to your people. Get curious about everything they have on their minds.

6. Set boundaries with your routines

My family knows that I do not answer my phone before 9:00 during the week. I have a specific morning routine that I live by that sets the tone for my entire day. I walk, meditate, journal, have some decaf espresso (I’m super sensitive to caffeine) and I keep things chilllll.

7. Watch your thoughts

What do all of these things have in common? They help you come back to your own thoughts, your own ideas, your own focus, etc. which will lead you to feeling more aligned and more clear throughout your day. The more connected you can be to yourself, the more clear decisions you will make.

Let me know if you try any of these or if you do some version of them already! I love hearing from you.

With so much love,

Mary