“I trust so much in the power of the heart and the soul; I know that the answer to what we need to do next is in our own hearts. All we have to do is listen, then take that one step further and trust what we hear. We will be taught what we need to learn.” ~ Melody Beattie

When you start looking toward, “How do I build a me that’s more naturally well?” you often think of things like: Eating more veggies, making movement a natural part of your day, finding a way to dial down stress. And so on.

All those are important. Truly. But the power we are missing? The power of us. The power of you going inside, way inside, and finding your strength, your power, your wisdom, your knowledge. That is what should be your first go to. THEN build the rest.

If you don’t, you may find yourself flopping around like a fish out of water. Gasping for information … the right information. There’s too much out there anymore for you to listen to all of it. Let alone attempt to follow it.

So … you gotta do you.

When you find your inside, baseline measurement, you can weigh all the possibilities against it. When you see a new idea, you then can test it out. “Oh, interesting, does that seem like a fit for me? Do I want to give it a try? Would I rather poke my eye out than do that for life?” (Okay, there’s a whole other measurement — if poking your eye out would be more desirable than doing that thing, please … don’t do it.)

Those might seem like easy questions to answer. If you don’t do you, though, they aren’t. Or, they seem like they are, but the answers won’t come up right. Like a screwed up Magic 8 ball. It’ll say yes if you aren’t tuned in to you, but the answer actually is no.

Okay, you on board? Great. Next step: How? Indeed. Wait, why are you still looking at me like that? Oh, got it. How:

• Find ways to shut your brain up. It spouts way, way too much stuff. Lots of it useless, if not also harmful. The quieter brain helps you hear better answers.

• Identify what it feels like when you have what we commonly call “gut instinct.” That intuitive hit. That magic knowing. Mother’s wisdom. You want to know what it feels like so you know, when you feel that, you’re in the right place with what you’re checking out. It’s not necessarily the easiest thing to do, but it’s not anywhere near impossible. You’ve probably used it a bunch already. Test it out on less important things. Play with it. You’ll grow more confident.

• Believe in you. You have a bunch of answers. Stop flopping about — aka asking everyone and everything — and ask YOU instead. What comes up? What does that feel like? (Item above.) Sure, it doesn’t hurt to do some research and maybe pick the brain of someone or two whom you truly trust and truly believe has good information plus is reasonably objective. But believe in you the most.

• Go ahead and surf the ‘net about what you’re interested in or concerned about. WITHIN reason. Use the above to filter what you’re reading. Do you think it’s worth exploring more? What’s your gut hit on it? Getting more knowledgeable about your issue of interest is generally going to serve you well. It’s not only finding answers, but even just getting up to speed so you know what you’re looking at, what to ask, what’s what. For example: I am hypothyroid. I followed doctor’s directions for several years. Wasn’t dying, wasn’t feeling great. I asked: “Is there more I can be doing? Is there something else I can do?” The answer: “Nope.” (More or less, except spoken, I’m sure, in better doctor-ese.) You know what? Nope wasn’t the final answer. There was plenty more. I found it, I asked for it, I fine tuned myself more, I could talk TSH and free T3 and so on with the best of them. Result? A healthier me because I became informed.

Okay, you got it. Go forth and be you.