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Make your own kind of Music!

For those of us coming from the generation where Madonna sang about getting into the groove to prove your love to someone or even our parents who grew up in the Flower Power Hippy times (and I don’t mean wide hips time) who thought it was uber-cool to be groovy; well folks, they knew how to be in the groove.

Read the papers, attend a few tele-summits or read the About Me page of popular websites –bloggers, coaches, consultants, spiritual healers. You’ll find lots of amazing stories of reinvention.

Wakeup Calls that led to Reinvention

The one factor that’ll comes across is that they have all stated that they suddenly woke up one morning (or less dramatically) to find that they wanted to have a higher purpose.

They questioned the meaning of their life and then went ahead and chucked up their day jobs, stepped out of their comfort zone and went into a completely different line.

They get a lot of media coverage because they have chosen to flee the pack and step out on their own. Some say it is a mid-life crisis, others say the individual has gone nuts. I say, they’ve connected with their inner selves and chosen to live.

They have gotten their groove back.

It’s easy to get caught up in living that life eludes you. And even easier to mortgage your present for a future which never seems to appear.

The decision of the person to make a complete makeover or reinvent themselves doesn’t mean that they do it that very morning when they woke up.

The stepping out into the sunlight is usually well thought out and planned months in advance. We only hear of it when the deed is done.

The moment they are referring to is when they have clarity. When their intuition finally gets their attention/

They connect with their inner wisdom which says,

‘Buddy, you go on this way and you will join the ranks of the living dead. Better write your obituary and leave it in a place where it will be found with a note that the advertising fee of the newspaper has been paid in advance’.

Vatsala’s quick question – How Would Your Obituary Read?

I never endorse draconian decisions without consulting those who will get affected like your family or even employers.

However, I do suggest that you should be aware of yourself and hence practice the art and science of being in the groove.

5 Tips for practicing the science of being in the groove

I have 5 tips that work for getting back on the wagon and into one’s groove. Try 1 or all 5. I promise you they work!

Make yourself Numero Uno

At the end of the day, you may have had an assisted birth, but you will die alone, even if family and doctors are present.

You are your best friend and if you aren’t then MAKE yourself your new best friend. Focus on your needs, eat well, sleep well, exercise well, go for routine checkups (diabetes, depression and heart diseases are not necessarily hereditary). Live a balanced life. Check if you are heading for a burnout with this quick self-assessment.

Make a daily ‘Me Time’ slot in your diary

In other words, maybe half an hour or so when you do only things for yourself.  You could decide not to do anything during me time, but the point is, it’s your time. (Tip: I’ve shared some more ideas for Me Time in my post Can burnout be prevented or treated)

Be realistic

You have 24 hours in a day and there is only so much you can achieve. While setting yourself tasks, ask yourself what tasks are of priority, what timelines are required to complete them, do you need assistance and can it be delegated?

More importantly, does it take you towards your long-term objectives or take you away? Are you doing something because its worthwhile but not that important?

How aligned is your work with your values?

When we do things which are not aligned with our values, it shows. The tasks are mechanical; the passion and inner drive is missing. We lack commitment which makes everything much more difficult.

Review and reassess your priorities and work towards them, not away from them.

Think outside the box

The phrase is well ingrained in corporate lingo and managers expect employees to do it. Parents who want their children to do things do it subconsciously. So why not do it for yourself?

You want to lose weight; you enroll in a gym membership and exercise wit h determination daily for a week and then 5 days, 4 days till you stop it altogether. Why not do different sets of exercises for each day of the week? The trainer would be delighted to work out a plan for you.  You would be exercising without going into a rut. The weighing scales will vouch for your progress.

Need help to get your creative juices rolling for out of the box thinking?

I recommend trying one of these 7 simple tips or downloading my guide on tapping into your imagination (click the image to get it).

Other areas include improving your communication skills, learn the skill of being a good listener, open up to new experiences, learn to say no, set up appropriate boundaries. Be comfortable in your own skin.

You’ll find the exercises in my book Self Confidence in 8 Steps useful for this.

Final Words on being in the Groove

As with all behavioral sciences, these are just the actions you could consider. The list is not exhaustive. The art is your will power, your inner knowledge of what works for you and what doesn’t.

It’s all about you. Know yourself, find ways to rediscover yourself and very soon you will be back in the groove, feeling groovy!

Your turn, how do you make sure that you stay in the groove and operate in your zone? I’d love to read your stories and personal tips in the comments box below!

Vatsala’s update: This blog post was originally written in August 2011 and in fact is the third blog post I wrote. It has been updated for relevance and to provide more value to the reader.