A 5 Step Process for Making Wholehearted Decisions

Christine came to a recent mentoring session in a state of anxious confusion. She was at a crossroads in her business and had an important decision to make between two possible options yet felt completely stuck.

As an experienced soul-inspired leadership coach, Christine knew plenty of tools and techniques for such situations.

In fact she used them with her own clients all the time and usually found that they worked well.

Disentangle from the Details

This was especially the case because her authentic guidance created a clear space for the professional women she loved supporting to find the clarity they seek.

Yet when it came to applying the same process to herself and her own business, Christine couldn’t disentangle herself from the details sufficiently to gain the perspective she needed.

Despite completing her favourite exercises to analyse the pros and cons of each possible scenario, she was struggling to make the right decision and losing confidence fast.

Alignment with True Calling

We covered a lot of ground in the session and explored the view that ultimately there are no “right” or “wrong” decisions.

The reframe clicked into place when Christine saw that these polar opposites could be replaced with whatever course of action brought her into deeper alignment with her true calling.

She soon saw that intellectual analysis alone would never suffice to reflect her inner core; that would need to make itself known through her intuitive sense and the wisdom of her heart.

A New Way Forwards

Christine was keen to awaken and develop her intuition so we agreed a plan going forwards to address that.

In the meantime, she needed a new way to assess the alternatives that were currently on the table so she could make what felt like the optimum decision for now.

I guided her through a practice to bring her heart online so she could feel her way into what was real for her beyond the boundary of her conditioned mind to complement the due diligence she’d already done.

5 Step Process

You might like to try this 5 step process to experience the results for yourself next time you have a decision to make between two (or more) options in any area of your business or personal life.

Set aside some time when you won’t be disturbed and identify the options you’re considering as A and B then…

1. Sit still, close your eyes and drop your awareness into the lower part of your belly; simply pay attention to the direct experience of your breath flowing in and out of your body.

• This calms your central nervous system and shifts you out of the trance of thinking.

2. Then draw your attention up to the area all around and including your physical heart, and spend a few moments feeling into this important area of your body with full awareness.

• You may feel a sense of warmth, fullness and/or a subtle quality of radiance.

3. Visualize the details for Option A. Then draw whatever impression you have into your heart space and notice what feelings arise; avoid trying to interpret them with your mind.

• There may be a sensation of lightness and excitement OR heaviness and dullness OR you may feel completely neutral.

4. Let go of your impression for Option A and the feelings associated with it and take a few conscious breaths; then repeat step 3 with Option B.

• Once again, simply focus on your direct experience of what you feel without intellectual analysis.

5. Finally, reinstate Option A and lightly hold both options in your heart space simultaneously; then feel which one has the most positive energy for you.

• Dismiss any attempt by your mind to hijack the process and give yourself full permission to trust what you feel!

It makes good sense to practice using this process with small decisions and gradually work your way up to more important ones when you’ve built up your sensory awareness.

Afterwards, look for evidence that provides feedback on the decisions you’ve made wholeheartedly and track your progress to develop your trust in the process.

A Third Option

As for Christine, she was delighted to discover that this process opened up a third option she hadn’t even considered before.

It was a partial combination of the two original options plus an insight gained from this wholehearted approach.

She’s now moving forwards with confidence once more and the 5 step process for making decisions wholeheartedly has become one of her favourites to use and share with others.

Further Resources

If you’d like to explore how my intuitive coaching and mentoring may benefit you:

• Drop me a line to Julia@JuliaMcCutchen.com to book a FREE Discovery Session and
• Check out my new six month series of Conscious Writing, Living and Leadership Mentoring – here.