Welcome to the Grow Inward Podcast, I am your host Adrian Petrillo.
I can’t believe it, but this is my last episode of the first season of the Grow Inward Podcast. It has been an interesting journey, and something that I wasn’t sure that I could even get through (laughs). I will be taking a short week off before diving back in for the new season, as we explore even more.
I sure hope that I have left you with something useful that you can carry on into your own life and practice this season. I hope that I have inspired you in some small way to move your life in a direction that really makes you feel inspired, happy, and fulfilling. For this last episode I am going to dive deeper into the most important part of what I want you to understand about inner work and moving your life in a direction that brings you closer to whatever it is that you want to create in your life, and that is movement.
Movement is the key factor in all creation and change, and the life you experience is no exception! I place it at the center of my own methodology of mindset, movement, and meditation for very good reason. This is because it is this central concept which ultimately creates momentum in all areas of life. I would like to invite you to think a bit differently about how you can use movement to work in your favor, in a way that helps lead you to where it is that you want to go in life.
I want to share a quote that helps to illuminate a very central part of this conversation today, and one that I want you to think deeply about in relation to your own goals and aspirations in life.
“Daily action, is how momentum is built. Add vision, goals and learning to your doing, and you will be unstoppable.” – Devani Alderson
Everything is energy in motion, which means that all of your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energy is always in motion as well. It is for this reason that I want to encourage you to think differently about these different aspects of yourself when it comes to the direction and momentum of each of them in your life today.
From this perspective, it isn't hard to understand why you need to get very clear on three specific questions in your life. By doing this first, you are effectively illuminating the path to begin creating momentum toward your goals. These three questions are what do you stand for, where are you are going now, and where do you want to be?
I recommend writing these down and working through them very carefully and honestly. Think through each of them and create a detailed story that paints the picture of exactly what values define you and are not up for debate, but also all of the other qualities of your ideal version of yourself and your life. Include all the details, where do you live, how do you live, what are your relationships like, what does your spirituality look like, what are your daily routines, what is your mindset like, what does your diet look like, what does your exercise look like, what is a typical day in your new life and how does that look?
This is actually a really fun exercise, it's fun to dream and to explore your true desires and bring them to life in a story that you write. Nobody can do this better than you, so get to it! Dream your best life and write it all out.
As you work on all of this, I want you to reflect honestly on that second question as well. Where are you going now? This is a deep question that does demand a bit of brutal honestly with yourself. There is a reason that you aren't where you would prefer to be, why is that? How is your current mindset, your thoughts and beliefs, holding you back from living this better life? Dig deep, and get to the bottom of these things, it will be very helpful in overcoming these things if you can simply identify them honestly first.
I think you can see how this exercise can be extremely valuable and beneficial, especially before you go about the task of redirecting your energy and movement in a very new and potentially challenging way. I can't stress this enough, getting clear on these questions up front will go a very long way toward helping you make meaningful changes. Having a clear direction leaves little room for mistakes or misunderstandings as to how to get there.
This leads me to something else to keep in mind when you are venturing down this path, which is how important it is to start small. Don't try to take on everything at once, overwhelming yourself is a sure way to get you to quit before you have even had a chance to find some small wins.
Small wins are made by taking small consistent steps, and that is a piece of advice you can take to heart for all steps in your journey to personal and spiritual development. The quote I mentioned at the beginning is so inspiring for this very reason, and it is so true. Daily action is how momentum is built. This is not a complicated idea, and yet you can easily make it complicated to taking on too much at a time. It is better to take a step back and to realize that small steps each day add up in a big way over time. Be patient, and allow this process to reveal itself to you and you will be very glad that you did.
I would like to shift to talking a bit more about the context of movement, as related to mindset, movement, and meditation. I have already eluded to much of that here, but it is worth some closer examination for clarity. As I had mentioned earlier, movement is in the middle because it is central to all of your efforts.
What I mean to say here is that it is important that you begin moving toward the things that add value to your life, and away from the things that don't. Now I realize that this seems super obvious, but the fact is that it's easier said than done, and many people struggle doing just that. It is very easy to keep moving in the same direction in your life, change is never easy and for that reason you will often choose to take the path of least resistance. It's fine, we have all been there.
I know that for me, I had reached a point where I was just finished with not doing anything to improve my life or my situation. I think sometimes you just need to hit that point in your life before you feel motivated enough to finally act on it? Do you ever feel like something must change? I bet you have, and when you do it is a great time to ask yourself those three important questions and get a plan together.
The other two items of mindset and meditation are two other areas where movement is necessary. Movement includes shifting your thoughts and beliefs as much as it does to do something physical such as exercise. Remember that all movement is just energy in motion. For this reason, we need to be moving all areas of our lives in a particular direction, one that ultimately leads to our goal identified in the last question, where do you want to be. There are obviously things that you have in mind as far as goals, and getting your mindset into alignment with reaching them is key!
Meditation is also movement from my perspective, because you are moving your mental energy in a different direction that helps you grow and connect with yourself on a much deeper level. Ironically, mindset and meditation work very well together, they tend to strengthen each other as they each improve over time. All of your efforts to move in a new direction, whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, are how you will begin creating momentum in pursuit of your own goals.
Let's talk briefly about physical movement, because it is very relevant to this conversation. I say this because your physical health will play a very key part in this process. It is such an important aspect of yourself that deserves special attention. Catering to your own health and well-being is really necessary for feeling good and energized to chase the things you desire to change in your life. It is a great place to start actually, and one that I would highly recommend you focus on first.
Get yourself to a place where you feel physically healthier and in reasonable shape. This will play a crucial role in your ability to have a positive outlook and mindset, if you aren't feeling well physically it will drag you down mentally and emotionally. I do recommend physical exercise of some form, yoga is a specific recommendation I will always lean on, due to its comprehensive benefits over time, but do anything that feels right for you just get moving.
In addition to the physical movement, moving toward healthier food choices is a very complimentary and beneficial consideration here. So much of the disease and general lack of energy many people experience is due to the food they eat. Cutting out processed foods and leaning more toward a plant based diet will work wonders for most people. It does not need to be extreme either, just like everything else, small changes done consistently can add up in a big way over time. Try it, you might just surprise yourself.
Of course, all of these efforts take time and it is good to avoid working on too many things at once. Don't ever sacrifice your momentum for speed. I know how tempting it is and how bad you may want to move things along more quickly some times, but resist your impatience and try to stay the course. By taking a slow and steady approach daily, you will be handsomely rewarded in due time. It also helps you to assimilate larger changes into your life at a pace you can actually feel comfortable with. The less overwhelm the better!
As you begin to tune your efforts and bring them all into alignment gradually over time, it can create a gravity of sorts in the wake of your efforts. By aligning your energy into the direction that you identified in those three questions, and taking small consistent steps that lead you to the ultimate outcome you desire, other areas of your life will either get pulled onto this course as well or they will require some additional action on your part.
You may begin to notice small things over time that aren't contributing to the direction and momentum that you have been reaching for. These are likely parts of you that are related back to that second question of where are you going now. This is likely because of the deeply held thoughts and beliefs which have shaped your entire experience up until this point, they are very much a part of your identity and have been for most if not all of your life.
You will begin to see how these old parts of your identity simply aren't compatible with where you are going now, and having this recognition is the first step toward overcoming it. This is where meditating on the deeper truth of who you are and would like to become is helpful, and finding some of these answers within yourself will help you shift your mindset to accommodate what is needed to move you closer toward where you are going.
All of this is slowly moving you in a new direction, and it takes time. Be patient with yourself, and make a concerted effort to avoid feeling overwhelmed. If you ever notice that you are feeling this way, take a break and evaluate where that is coming from. You will often find that it is because you are trying to accomplish too much at once. Try lightening your load a bit and try that on for size, find a comfortable place. Overwhelm is only going to hurt you and your efforts to change, and that is the last thing you need when trying to shift something important to you.
Work slowly on one or two elements of your life at a time, and slowly pull in those that need attention one at a time after you get going. Give yourself a chance to succeed and have some wins, it will provide the inspiration and motivation needed to know deep within yourself that this is possible and you are making progress.
When you think of energy in motion as the driver of everything in your life, you begin to see how you are very much in control of a great deal of that motion. Of course there are exceptions, and you can't expect to be in control of everything, but you do have a significant amount of control to be certain. It all starts with those small but consistent steps, daily actions that slowly move you in the right direction.
Movement really is a key factor in changing your life, and by using the process of mindset, movement, and meditation together, they all work together in a way that helps to bring everything into alignment so that you can build momentum toward your own goals and dreams. Let the gravity of your momentum pull everything in your life into alignment, a concerted effort moving all of your energy in the right direction and leading you to the life you truly want to live. You can do this, and you should, live a fulfilling life and reach for all that you can, and be a great example for others along the way. I am sending you lots of love and encouragement!
As I mentioned earlier, I will be taking a short week long break before the next season begins, and I hope you will join me then.
Until next time, never underestimate the power you have within you, and keep growing inward.
