Silence The Noise To Hear The Truth
One night last week, I came home ready to fight. High levels of frustration and anger, coupled with a headache that would not quit, entered the house with me.
It started the night before. My dog's whining woke me up several times, and my love's snoring discouraged any chance of a restful slumber. I slept through the alarm and headed to work later than I wanted. Most of the day was spent pleading with colleagues, who were questioning completed work. Consequently, a major deadline was now under attack. Of course, all of these conversations took place in meetings, comprised of folks with rising anxiety levels.
On the way home, traffic stalled and my head throbbed, due to a empty stomach and low caffeine levels (I bypassed lunch and settled for mediocre coffee). Unfortunately, all of the day's stress came home with me. As I closed the door, I heard the piercing bark of hungry dogs, stepped on dusty floors from a renovation project and absorbed a flippant comment from my love. At this point, I was done.
Side bar - Upon reflection, I'm well aware my experiences could be categorized as #FirstWorldProblems. However, they are my experiences and valid to me. Back to the story.
I needed to calm down. I quickly went upstairs to my home office, closed the door, lit my candles, turned off my phone and sat on the floor. I closed my eyes and sat there in silence. After a few moments, I said aloud, "What's going on with you Danni? What are you looking for?"
The answers came through in the quiet. They were clear and honest, so I knew I had to write them down. Documenting my truth is how I keep moving.
Experience my life to the fullest
Minimize regrets
Contribute something (not sure what)
Take care of my family
That's it. 4 goals. Security, health, adventure, purpose, learning and love, are all in there. I've heard coaches rave about the importance of goal setting, and now I know why! The feeling of peace that washed over me, while sitting on that floor, was remarkable.
A few minutes later, I calmed down, the headache lessened, and my dogs and love came in to check on me. I smiled, hugged the dogs, kissed my love and walked downstairs with them. I'm headed in the right direction, and silence helped me find it.