Welcome to this audio recording of my Monday musings.
My name is Marielle Smith and this particular musing was posted on Illuminate on the 8th of January of this year.
The mantra I drew for that week,
Which was pulled from my The Sovereign Success Oracle deck,
Was,
I focus only on what's aligned with me.
Here's the post.
When I drew the card for this week,
I focus only on what's aligned with me,
It immediately took me back to an Akashic Records reading I did last year for a writer who was struggling to finish the draft of a novel they'd been working on for quite some time.
After they ran out of ways to blame others for not getting any writing done,
They decided to sign up for a reading with me to learn more about where their resistance was coming from and what could be done about it.
Resistance can have a million different origins,
And the reasons why we are resisting something are often layered.
In this particular case,
The writers' Akashic Records provided multiple topics and questions that needed to be meditated on or journaled about,
Amongst which were two questions about alignment.
The first question was specific to the novel they were working on,
And asked the writer to check in with themselves to see whether the story and its message were still aligned with them.
If not,
What needed to be changed?
Resistance to a particular something doesn't necessarily mean you're resisting the thing itself,
So I was far from surprised that the next question their records told me to pass on was a much broader one.
It asked them to revisit their overall career plans and consider whether or not those plans still aligned with them.
If not,
What did that mean for the novel they were trying to finish?
For today's post,
I took those questions and turned them into a quick alignment exercise that can be used by any creative person who's resisting or feeling reluctant to engage with the work they are supposed to be doing right now.
I'll put a download link to the exercise in the notes,
But for convenience sake,
I'll ask the questions here as well.
If you want to do the exercise right away,
Just grab pen and paper and pause the recording after each question.
When you started this project,
What did you want it to say?
Is that original message still aligned with you today?
If no,
What needs to be changed for the message to align with where you are right now?
Now look at the project in its current shape.
What do you want it to say?
What is it actually saying?
Is that message aligned with where you are today?
If no,
What needs to be changed for the message to align with where you are right now?
Now look at your career plans overall.
When you first started out on this path,
What were you hoping to bring to the world?
Is that still what you want to bring to the world?
If no,
What needs to be changed for your original plans to align with where you are right now?
Now look at where your career actually is today.
What are you currently bringing to the world?
Is that what you want to be bringing to the world?
If no,
What needs to be changed for your future plans to align with where you are right now?
If you answered the previous question with no,
Take a moment to consider the project you have been struggling with.
If your career plans need to be tweaked,
Where does that leave this project?
Does it still fit your plans or not?
Like I already said,
Resistance can have many reasons and causes,
And working through this exercise might not solve your current struggle,
Or not solve it entirely.
However,
One of my not-so-humble beliefs is that being aligned with the work you're doing and the path you've set out for yourself is key to creating a creative career that's both fulfilling and sustainable.
Whether or not your resistance or reluctance comes from a personal misalignment,
The exercise will help you get clear on where you,
Your project and your career are right now,
And if and how you can align the three of you.
If you do the exercise,
I'd love to hear your thoughts and what showed up for you.
Happy creating and aligning this week,
And thank you for listening.