You are in charge of your own vehicle…

Lilia Donawa
Aug 28, 2017 · 6 min read

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.” — Albert Einstein

Ah yes, the tingling sensation of uncertainty with a glimmer of hope for something good; something that may bring you one step closer to your true purpose.

Sunny Hostin, an American lawyer, columnist, social commentator and multi-platform journalist delivered a TedTalk two years ago entitled A Possibility Model. She opened with an inspired quote by Mark Twain: “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why,” but she disagreed on the amount of defining days an individual experiences in their life. That is according to her calculations a person has three (3) defining days: the day we enter this world, the day we identify what we won’t be in life thus carving out who you wish to be and how you wish to live and the day we have our ah-ha moment; THE reason we were born.

I agree that we were born for a reason or some purpose we know nothing of.

Today, I’m taking my own advice listed in “Tanjoubi omedetou! Joyeux anniversaire! Happy Birthday! To my amazing sister,” most specifically #24 Listen to your heart/instincts more.

You are in charge of your own vehicle. Sitting in the back seat taking in the sights and features of your surroundings while someone else drives is all well and good but as THE driver of your own life you decide which roads to take, when and where the final destination is.

I’ve consistently vented about my struggles in attaining my ultimate purpose. For a while it seemed like my car was on autopilot. I have been depressed and numb because opportunities were and still are so few and far between and most importantly my inner defense mechanisms had taken the wheel not allowing any false promises or opportunities to take a ride in my car because of the danger that it posed to me like getting excited and preparing sincerely to tackle these opportunities only to be disappointed.

But, I have already resolved and reaffirmed my commitment to my dream (See Becoming and Fulfilling more through Maslow’s Hierarchy of Motives).

A week or two into July/August vacation my mom cut out an advertisement in the newspaper in which the Ministry of Education was looking for teachers to teach in their part-time program.

My thought process

Let’s wait and see.

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Some thoughts on following your heart/instincts

It’s said that the heart is associated with emotion while instincts are inherently a feeling or sensation in our body that makes us aware of something that is potentially good, bad or anything in between. It is our biological response to stimuli, circumstances and even unusual episodes in one’s life. Furthermore researchers have discovered that these feelings/instincts/ intuition are more material than they seem. According to social psychologist David Myers, “the intuitive right brain is almost always “reading” your surroundings, even when your conscious left brain is otherwise engaged. The body can register this information while the conscious mind remains blissfully unaware of what’s going on (Helgoe 2010).”

Therefore defining feelings are important if we are to understand the butterflies fluttering when we are nervous or the intense defense guard that goes on alert when you know you’re being watched or the hairs that stand up at the back of your neck when you feel something amiss or goosebumps lining your arm when you experience some resonating event be it music, lectures etc. A feeling is a process of internal communication between an individual’s body and mind. They are instructions to behave in certain ways.

Signals triggered by the Vagus Nerve

Basically, within the Autonomic Nervous System there are two primary branches of nerve fibers: 1. the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and 2. the para-sympathetic nervous system (PNS). The former is the “on-button” for the fight-or-flight response while the latter is the “on-button” for the relaxation response.

The Vagus Nerve, part of the PNS, is the 10th of 12 cranial nerves running from the mid-brain down the mid-line of the body; through the jaw, throat, chest, solar plexus, stomach, into the lower gut right behind the belt buckle, including the genitalia (“What Are Feelings” 2017). The chief function of the Vagus Nerve is to send signals from the vital organs back to the brain so the brain can monitor and regulate them.

“Eighty to ninety percent of the fibers in the vagus nerve are afferent nerves — meaning they carry information from the organs to the brain. Ten to twenty percent of the fibers are efferent nerves — meaning they carry information to the organs from the brain (“What Are Feelings” 2017),” demonstrating that the vagus nerve is an integral part the communication system between the mind and body.

When feeling morphs into emotion…

When that physical sensation reaches our mind it triggers a “Google search,” using words like “What is that?” The pre-frontal cortex (thinking mind) initiates the search and consults the amygdala (the feeling mind). Subsequently the “Results” page appears when the answer is chosen under the tag or category of emotion.

Instinct or feeling becomes emotion after being fully processed by the brain.

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From the mini-lesson above, I finally understand why fear seems crippling and why taking risks seem like a death sentence especially if it doesn’t go the way you planned.

When you have reached this point you MUST believe in yourself!

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” — Thomas A. Edison

Motivate and inspire yourself to keep on stepping because we all need encouragement and a way to replenish our spirit and refuel our vehicle for the long road ahead.

You are in charge of your own vehicle. Sitting in the back seat taking in the sights and features of your surroundings while someone else drives is all well and good but as THE driver of your own life you decide which roads to take, when and where the final destination is.

Don’t let the system drive you. You drive it.

References

Hegar, Mary Jennings. 2016. Follow Your Heart Because It Knows You Best. Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGnjlHbhnmg.

Helgoe, Courtney. 2010. “5 Gut Instincts You Shouldn’T Ignore”. Experience Life. https://experiencelife.com/article/5-gut-instincts-you-shouldnt-ignore/.

Hostin, Sunny. 2015. A Possibility Model. Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE9ovP2mEUY.

Neuman, Fredric. 2012. “The Purpose Of Feelings”. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fighting-fear/201212/the-purpose-feelings.

Oprah Winfrey Network. 2011. Learning To Trust Your Instincts | Oprah’s Life Class. Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnFAesmeyBU.

“What Are Feelings”. 2017. Www.Internet-Of-The-Mind.Com. http://www.internet-of-the-mind.com/what-are-feelings.html.

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