Conviction

When I say the word ‘conviction’, how do you feel?

Is it intimidating? Do you feel an element of fear when it comes to complete and total commitment or taking a stance? Or do you feel conviction/certainty too easily, and often find out you were incorrect?

Perhaps you’ve found the balance: find enough proof, make sure something is true without a shadow of a doubt, and then form conviction.

Yet, in your ‘balance’, how much time do you find yourself deliberating before finding certainty? Before you find the confidence to have conviction?

Conviction is an ongoing conversation for me, as it applies to many aspects of my life. In Physical Therapy, I am able to test if I’m correct about what I think a diagnosis might be, and then solidify my thoughts and find conviction. In life, conviction hasn’t always been straightforward; that is, until I began trusting there was a force greater than me in this Universe.

Please allow me to explain a couple viewpoints, which I will not suggest are correct or incorrect; simply, I will introduce you to these beliefs/views:

In all three scenarios, we are ants. We are smaller than something like the ocean, or even bigger than the ocean. We know this feeling, as many of us have stood by the ocean, or next to a mountain. Many of us have felt the power of a windy day, or the strength of the sun when it makes direct contact with our skin at noon on a summer day.

We know there’s more to this place than just us. Inside, we get confused by other people’s opinions — and the mind circles they create — but we have the ability to make ‘connection to something greater’ our first point of ‘conviction’.

Once you take the leap of faith and find conviction that you are not the end-all, be-all, by yourself, then you can begin to seek conviction by asking for answers from the FP, Universe, God(s), or spirit. Instead of trying to find enough evidence in your life for conviction, you can instead call upon that which is greater than you and ask. The answer — or metaphysical display of an answer — is all you’ll need, for this answer will consistently be for the highest good, even when it seems momentarily misguided.

And with practice, you’ll get better.

Here are the 10 priorities Christine and I came up with yesterday to help in the pursuit of conviction, all ten of which we are making priorities in our lives right now. We hope you’ll join us:

1. Recognize spirit every day within your community by setting daily intentions for your family, friends, co-workers, etc.
• Example: as a family/community, set an intention to appreciate one of the following topics throughout the entire day and share about your day at every meal: spirit, water, fire, air, Earth, love, food, mind, movement, social, genius/purpose, or place
2. Meditate in the morning and evening.
3. Meal time is meant to be shared.
4. Productive morning, adventurous afternoon with independent experiences included as part of group/family.
• Example: if you go to a park as a family or with friends, spend at least 10-15 minutes doing something by yourself, with the intention to clear your mind and connect with nature. Then, discuss your experience with your surrounding community, which makes an independent activity also a community activity. This is very good for your health in all social circumstances, at least part of the time.
5. Opportunity for self-reflection and contribution a few times per day for every community/family member.
• Example: let each person have a turn speaking during a meal, with a self-reflective question for them to answer. For example, you might ask: “how has your food day been so far?” if you have chosen ‘food’ as your point of focus for today (see #1 above)
6. Similar schedule for wake up, bedtime, meals, etc., optimized for your body and mind.
• Chronobiology is the study of timing for your biology. Basically, there are certain times of day your body best absorbs food, moves, thinks, prioritizes, socializes, etc. Get to know your body and then adapt based upon doing things when you’re biologically programmed to do them.
7. Balance family and mission/career, so there’s always time for the opposite category throughout your day.
• Example: if you are at work, create the opportunity to interact with your family at least 1-2x/day. This will create more balance and the feeling of presence in both categories of your life. The same is true in reverse, so you don’t end up overwhelmed and stressed at work the next day by ignoring something important at night or in the morning. The key is to schedule this time, allow for it to be dynamic as it needs to be, and honor it’s a short fragment of this section of your day, so you can always honor your current priority first.
8. Practice gratitude through creating conversations and circumstances throughout the day that lead towards you and others feeling grateful.
9. Practice acts of self-love throughout the day, including allowing yourself to receive in order to be able to give.
10. Echo God, Universe, spirit, or the FP’s intention in what you do and say.

Today’s thought exercise:

Are you willing to challenge yourself to find conviction in your life? And if so, will you do what it takes to make each of the above 10 priorities yours?

Sent to you with love, honor, and in service,