In this exercise, I’d like you to ask yourself a simple question. But before you do, I’d like you to go some place quiet where you can listen for the answer. You don’t have to do it right now, just some time today.
And don’t assume you know the answer. Don’t assume there even is an answer.
It’s a Simple Question
Ask yourself, “What would I like to be doing right now?” And by right now I mean right then and there, at that very moment.
Don’t ask yourself what you’d like to accomplish in the next week or the next six months or in the next anything. Don’t try to generate ideas. Don’t try to solve any problems. Just ask that simple question. What would I like to be doing right now?
It’s a Simple Answer (or Not)
If you’re tired, you might tell yourself you’d like to be sleeping. That’s one possibility. But if you’ll listen, other possibilities may present themselves as well. You may discover you’d like to listen to some music, or call an old friend, or sit with your child on your lap, or simply enjoy the silence.
If an answer doesn’t come, so be it. That’s kind of interesting in itself, don’t you think? After all, why wouldn’t you have an answer? Maybe it’s been a long time since you bothered to ask. If so, here’s your chance to start.
Put Away Your Pens and Pencils
And please don’t write any of this down. In my opinion, too many books immediately send you running to grab a notebook as if every good thought you’re ever going to have will instantly evaporate if you don’t rush to capture it in ink. But the things you want to do aren’t going anywhere. They just need you to take notice, not take notes.
Later, in the chapter about collecting your thoughts, we’ll explore some cool ways to capture on paper what’s happening inside your head, but please skip it for now. Sometimes writing in a notebook can be just another thing you have to get right and you end up ignoring yourself in an attempt to be cool or creative or profound or whatever it is you think you’re supposed to be.
Get Out Your Curiosity
When you ask this question, the only thing you need to be is curious. Essentially, I’m asking you take an interest in what your heart and mind have to say when you’re not busy trying to force them to say anything in particular.
Ask Often
And once is not enough. You have to keep asking and you have to keep listening, because sometimes it takes a while to get truly honest answers.
Anytime, Anywhere
To begin, I asked you to go some place quiet, but once you get used to it, you can ask this question anytime, anywhere. You can ask it when you’re at your breakfast table or in a crowded restaurant. You can ask it when you’re on your way to work, stuck in a traffic jam, or standing in line at the grocery store. Ask and ask often, then listen for the answers.
Heed the Call from Time to Time
Obviously, you can’t always drop everything and go do the thing you want to do, but every now and then you should.
It would be even better if you could set aside an hour or two at least once or twice a week when you can ask the question and simply go do whatever it is you hear yourself longing to do. For me, at first, it was puttering about with an electric piano keyboard. Then it was blogging, then drawing, then writing poems, and I’m still following the trail. It’s always interesting.
Follow the Trail Wherever It Leads
Your own trail will be different, unique, and every bit as fascinating, and it’s on this trail where your quest begins. I promise that wherever it leads, should you follow, will one day surprise and delight you.
Next in this Series: Soul Sleuthing – Another Exercise in Quiet Inspiration
Previously in this Series: The Quest Before the Mission
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I recently had a revelation related to this very topic. I was in Paris for my honeymoon (poor me) and several days into the trip, I realized that every time my husband and I made a choice, we’d answer the question, “Do we feel like it?” If we answered yes, we’d do it. If we answered no, we wouldn’t. It was that simple. It turned out that we only made choices that made us happy. Nothing was done out of obligation.
Fast forward a few weeks and I’m back in the “real world.” I am constantly reminding myself of the revelation I had, but it’s not easy to infuse it into my every day life. I really like your idea of asking the question, “What would I like to be doing right now?” and asking it constantly. I think this is a great way to stay in the moment and appreciating what’s right in front of me.
Thanks for the great reminder!
Ken, as a rabid note-taker, this post really hit the spot for me! I was always one of those conscientious types that took loads of notes, while I was at school and uni. When I did my NLP training, for the first time, I just sat and listened and experienced, and didn’t take any notes. And you know, I really don’t remember much from school and uni studies, but the NLP training is still so vivid. Thanks for the reminder to just listen, and even better, to listen to myself in the way I listened at that NLP training.
Cath