The Beauty of Course-Correction
How many of us are afraid of course-correcting in life?
Perhaps we have grown up feeling like there's a 'right' or 'best' way of doing things. And if things don't work out the way we expect, we have ‘failed’. It’s definitely a mindset that I grew up with. That it’s best to take the most efficient route and why waste time on things that most likely won’t lead you to where you want to get to?
But one thing that I've learnt in my journey of self-care (and in life) time and time again… is that course-correction is a part of living life. It is not a failure. And in many cases it can be the most beautiful act of self-love. Coming back into alignment with ourselves.
When I went through a major rock bottom for both my work and relationships a few years back, I was incredibly tired and knew that I couldn’t continue on in this way for my own health was getting affected. I was so upset with myself, blamed myself for the state I was in and felt like such a failure in life especially when I compared myself with others.
It was then that I came across Lilynage®︎ (while doing a Konmari declutter! I swear to this day that all good things come about from a Konmari declutter ;)) and as I started to spend more time caring for my body and mind through Self-Massage, I learnt that whenever we face challenging times in our lives and want change, the important thing is to hold ourselves with compassion, instead of blame.
We are where we are because of the choices that we have made with the knowledge that we had at the time. And every action that we took was us doing the very best for ourselves. There is no need for blame. Instead, there is always a need for kindness, compassion and love for that version of ourselves that did our very best.
It’s something that I have to continuously remind myself of and practise over and over again.
Less blame, more compassion.
And whenever things don’t go as expected, it’s merely a beautiful opportunity to course-correct and to get even more aligned with who we are.
It’s coming back to ourselves and reconnecting with who we are, and who we want to be. It is about taking small steps every day to learn about ourselves, cherish ourselves and celebrate the unique person we are and respecting the dreams and goals we have for our lives.
For me, course-correction involved transitioning to freelance doctor work so that I could devote more time to pivoting into wellness which resonated more deeply with me, taking up an incredibly intensive 6 month course in Japanese to become a Certified Lilynage Instructor (yes that was crazy! but so worth it), intentionally creating a work-life schedule that allows more time for rest and caring for myself in a way that feels so much more aligned for the stage of life I’m in now. Doing things differently from what others is often scary, but when things aligned with what you want for yourself, courage and strength and support comes from many areas of life. :) Which I am grateful for.
Every time I took things slower (as difficult as it was going against the pattern of the efficiency/productivity loving person I am because there are times when that mode doesn’t serve me), reconnected with myself again through self-massage, and learnt to Course-Correct with more compassion and ease, I got more and more in aligned with myself and who I wanted to be for my future.
Course-correction is simply us living a more aligned life - in heart, mind and body.
And that is a beautiful thing.
What are your thoughts on this?
When have you had to course-correct in your life? What is the life that you dream of living and what are some steps that you want to take in that direction?
Would love to hear your comments!
