Are you being pushed by the pain? Or pulled by a vision? What does that even mean? Well, it has to do with what is motivating you to make the decisions you’re making. On any topic in your life.
Let’s take the subject of “Career”, and dive deeper, shall we?
To be pulled by a Vision
Here, you’re feeling inspired. There’s a sense of alignment, of things in your career unfolding with ease and grace. Perhaps there’s even excitement, and anticipation! You decided what you want, and it seems it’s coming toward you, without a struggle. Your eye is on the prize as they say, and you’re not worried. You have a picture of what the end result is going to look like, and you just know, even IF speedbumps pop up along the way, it’s going to happen.
To be pushed by Pain
Here, you’re struggling. You take action and nothing seems to change. That frustrates you – which makes you work even harder. It feels like you’re swimming upstream, and it’s been forever since you got a good break. You’re nowhere near where you were hoping to be by this time in your life, and you’re wondering if you should just quit and do something “responsible” like get a J.O.B. or something. But you can’t quit – because THIS and only THIS is your dream. You have to keep going…
—————
When you read those two scenarios, can you feel what stirs in you? In metaphysics those feelings aren’t just thoughts that have sensations in the body when you think them. They’re vibrational. The whole universe is vibrational, it resonates with itself – like with like. We send out signals all the time. That’s why those that talk most about happiness and success and love have a lot of that, and those that talk most about sadness and not-enough and failure have more of that.
Everything is Energy
Steve talks about this a lot in classes, especially when it comes to gratitude. Practicing gratitude, sincere gratitude, attracts more things to be grateful for. The same is true for the opposite. While plenty of people think this is “woo”, it’s really just physics – on a meta-level.
Be Pushed, Until You’re Pulled!
When you’re being pushed by pain, (that is to say you’re motivated by something not going how you want), it might still make things move. It’s just a miserable kind of journey. The path is often circuitous – it takes forever, and there isn’t a guarantee you’ll get to your destination. It’s harder, in every way. When you’re being pulled by a vision you’re more open, and you’re naturally more trusting. Things are going to work out – you’ve “seen” it, and you tell yourself about that vision often.
Understanding this challenges us to choose. We choose to replace the pain of “not having”, with a vision of “having”. That’s not easy, and you can’t just go from one end of the spectrum to the other! Perhaps you’ve been “cutting a groove” for a while, and it’s deep. If you’ve ever seen an old-school LP turntable with a needle, you know that in order to get out of a deep groove the needle has to jump (or be bumped!). Otherwise the record keeps playing, over and over.
Our lives are like that.
It takes time!
We have to replace thought patterns (because we can’t just leave empty space there!). That takes time though. Maybe your thoughts have been fixated on “I’m stuck here! I need to get out of this stupid little town and move to LA so I have a chance to make it”. That’s pain pushing you. Maybe you can start to replace those thoughts with “I’m in the right place and I’m looking forward to making moves, and all the opportunities that will become available to me!”. That’s an example of cultivating a vision that can pull you. What will those opportunities look like? How would it feel to be where you want to be?
You can feel the vibrational difference between the two choices. And yet nothing has to change in your physical world yet! It starts with what you’re telling yourself. The more you can do that, the deeper that groove can be cut, and the greater the chance that the vision will take over. At that point your life (at least in regards to that particular aspect) will improve. It’s physics, on the meta-level.
Am I being pushed by the pain or pulled by a vision?
I apply this litmus test in every aspect of my life. I’m not always 100% successful at switching from push to pull, and certainly have aspects that need work, but that’s why it’s called a “practice”!
I’ve found since moving back to New Zealand that far fewer people practice this here than in California. People here think I’m “lucky”. That I just happen upon situations that benefit me. It’s not luck! It’s a practice, it’s staying open, it’s asking myself (especially if it’s a difficult situation and I have to make a hard decision) “Am I being pushed by the pain or pulled by the vision?” and then working to shift my thoughts accordingly.
Spend time with this question.
Ask it with regards to your relationships, your finances, your career. See if you can tell which areas of your life you’re being pulled toward a vision of something you want, and which areas you’re letting yourself be pushed by pain.
How are your decisions different in each area? What can you do to change the areas that you feel are being driven by pain? What does the thing you want look like? Can you articulate it? Can you surrender what is (that is far from what you want) and let the vision of what you just articulated take over?
I’d love to know what comes up for you here, so leave me a comment if you’re open to it. I hope this was helpful, if nothing else just to bring a little more self-awareness into your life.
Be easy on yourself, this isn’t a “one and done” kind of exercise, it’s a way of being differently in your life and it’s a practice!
Sending you Big Love!
Reirani
PS: If you’re interested in diving deeper into the work of re-working the vibrational set-point and replacing old thought patterns with new ones – I recommend the book Getting into the Vortex by Jerry and Esther Hicks. It’s available on audiobook or paperback here