For most of my younger years I was a worrier.
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Worried I would disappoint.
Worried I would make a mistake.
Worried I would 'fail'.
So often we focus on what other people (might) think of us, leading us to doubt our choice, doubt ourselves and ignore our 'inner voice'.
We all get prompts every day from this inner voice.
Over the years I have learnt that if I make a mistake, I can learn from it.
Taking the attitude that I can learn from every error is so positive and energising.
Even getting lost on a walk can open us to unexpected scenic beauty.
Albert Einstein said that (1) Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results and (2) A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything new.
So often patients reported acting on an inner voice prompt and having a life changing experience.
Doreen, whose family attended my practice for 20 years, one day felt prompted to open up about her past.
Her marriage to Fred was in fact her second marriage.
Her first husband Ron had died on the front in WWII, only months after they met.
Fred had asked her to never speak of Ron again and she had agreed.
But every day she thought of Ron.
Doreen suffered from the severest of asthma.
Her inner voice was screaming to talk of Ron and the love she still carried in her heart.
Doreen was so thankful to be able to share these innermost thoughts and emotions.
She wondered if she had made a mistake in breaking her promise to Fred.
The relief she felt reassured her that she had made no mistake.
It had taken a long time for her to listen to that inner voice and I wondered how much her asthma was related to this pent up emotion.
Steve Jobs put it well: "Don't let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice".
