Signs Keep us Headed in the Right Direction

Signs are everywhere! They are a useful and necessary tool.

• “Go this way, not that.”
• “Look out for danger over here, or under there.”
• “Look up, not down.”
• “Men go this way, women go that way.”
• “Slow down, Speed up, STOP!”

You catch my drift.

Signs are so much a part of our modern existence we probably couldn’t maintain social order without them. Imagine having to figure out everything for yourself – one person goes 30mph on the freeway while another goes 110mph. You have to stand in line for hours to find out which flights go to Cincinnati, Detroit or NYC. You wouldn’t know whats “on sale” or what exit to take to get to Disney Land. Or where the hospital was. Or the police station. Or that there was fallen rock, a cattle crossing or a mud slide…. just ahead.

The more I contemplate how useful and necessary signs are, the more I realize there is a whole language built around signs. A language of warning perhaps and a language of information. A language that keeps us on track, out of danger and headed in the right direction. Signs are there to inform us, protect us, warn us and let us know what is permissible in the realm of social behavior. Essentially, if you don’t follow the signs you’re either lost or in a big heap of trouble! And these are just the signs that help us navigate our everyday lives.

What about the signs that want us to buy this or that? Vote for the right politician or the wrong one? Stop here for “good eats” or there for gas? These advertisements are informative yes, but they are also powerful in the way their message sinks into our subconscious mind. They promise us the fulfillment of some deeply desired sensory pleasure that we must have right now or in the new,  as soon as I’m elected, utopian future. These signs can get you to eat even when you’re not hungry! They remind us of some pleasure we’ve had in the past and how much we’d like to experience that pleasure again and, they make it all too easy. You just have to get off at exit #67 and you’re there – where a big, juicy, In-N-Out Burger (animal style) is waiting with your name on it. See, how easy that was? I bet you’re getting hungry already.

Signs are a good thing! They communicate with us in ways that a conversation does not. They make non-analytical impressions in our brains. Like a stamp of instant recognition. A graphic imprint so to speak. A way of knowing without processing or at least, processing on a different level. Ever notice how different it is to learn through watching an example (like a cooking show) rather then listening to how it’s done? Huge! But everyone learns differently and so both ways are necessary and thankfully, now with technology, both ways are possible.

Signs are so useful in this way, in getting under our skin and into our subconscious minds, I recommend my clients customize signs of their own. Ones that will keep their personal goals and clear intentions in the forefront of their mind and keep them headed in right direction. I use them myself and I promise you, they work!

This year I’m wanting to focus on “slowing down.” It’s not that I want to stop doing the many wonderful things I’m doing, as in quit my job, move-to-the-outback and retire, it’s just that I no longer want to be hurried about my life. Hurriedness is a habit. It’s a way of thinking. As if we won’t reach our destination unless we RUN. The old “Rabbit and the Hare” story, right? I’m tired of hurrying! Really sick of it. It steals my joy and keeps me always in the future…..away from what is happening right now, which I’m well aware, is all we really have. So, I’ve made signs that say: Practice Non-Hurriedness. One is in my car – right on the dash for everyone to see (maybe others will see it and be reminded to stop hurrying too); one is in my office (just as I walk out of the door); one is on my vanity mirror (I can see it when I brush my teeth and wash my face), and it’s working! I see the signs, I reflect, I breathe, I remember my intention, I slow down.

From the outside you might not even notice a difference, but on the inside, everything has changed. A different pace, a relaxed manner, a present mind. And whatever action I take from that state-of-being I assure you, is more pure, more clear and more productive.

Another sign in our house, above the clock in the kitchen, reads: Sense of Urgency…..a sign Jim put up a few years ago….which is probably why I now need to practice non-hurriedness! 🙂 See how it all works?

So, what’s your sign? What are you needing to hear right now? What are you wanting to work on in your life? What message do you need to be reminded of? Maybe it’s to be more loving toward yourself. More patient. To Believe in your Dreams. To have Courage. To Stay Focused. To Have Faith. Whatever it is you’re needing to be reminded of on a regular basis, whatever it is that you need to seep into your sub-conscious mind until you really “get it,” make a sign.

Use your imagination and have fun with it. Make it big or small, use different fonts or symbols, color it, draw it, glitter it, bead-azzle it, whatever makes you happy,  just make it work for you. Then, tattoo it to your forehead……..so to speak.