Working on the Inside

And, what if the most important "job" we have is the one where we are not doing anything?

Work is synonymous with money, effort and outputs. It is something we do and our effort in doing it can be measured through outputs.  It can be physical, intellectual or technical and is often experienced as hard or time consuming.

But what if there is a different perspective on work?

I was having a conversation with a friend recently and I found myself talking about doing inner work. The quizzical look on her face told me that what I was saying was not landing with her so I tried to explain what I meant, with little success!

So, it got me thinking - what did I really mean and why did it feel important to me?

It is REALLY important to me. I have devoted a huge proportion of my life to inner work and know that has contributed positively to my experience of life. When I am with a client, we are exclusively focused on inner work. Their work (their job) is on the periphery of our conversation it is not our focus and yet, I see the impact it has when they point their attention in a different direction and how they then approach their work (their job) in a more empowered and creative way. 

And so, what is inner work? And why does it matter?

Inner work is what happens when we accept that our experience of the world around us comes from what we are experiencing on the inside, not from the outside, and we consciously choose to explore how that could be different, and better, for us.

Imagine that regardless of what shit happens in your life (relationship breakdown, losing a job, illness, financial challenges) you could maintain a sense of balance and stability which would enable you to respond in a powerful and creative way. Imagine not being at the mercy of someone or something else for the situation to resolve itself. Imagine being ok with whatever happens and being able to transform your experience from the inside out.

What could that mean for you?

There is no shortage of training courses you can go on to learn about anything you want and there is a whole internet with infinite information for you to devour in the quest to know more about any subject. And yet people still find themselves in situations where there is no “how to” and no amount of knowledge helps them work out what to do.

That is where the inner work trumps all!

Turning attention inwards and getting to know the mind, the body and the heart more intimately is where real power and freedom lies.  It’s where true empowerment comes from. With a greater sense of awareness of the inner landscape we can choose in any moment how we want to experience it. And I mean literally any moment.

I wrote in a previous blog about going for investigations and treatment last year for pre-cancerous cells following a smear test. That experience showed me the value in doing the inner work because instead of being worrying, painful and disruptive I experienced it with ease and a curiosity which surprised and delighted me!

Inner work isn’t done to the exclusion of the outer world, it is done in partnership with it and “work” in the traditional sense (the things we do that we receive money for) can be a great source of material for the inner work (or put another way - it offers endless gifts in the form of learning).  The tasks we do, projects we work on, the people we work alongside, the experienced we have and the way we feel are all rich opportunities for us to turn our attention inward and get to know ourselves at a different (and deeper) level.

And don’t get me wrong about training and learning! I was a corporate trainer for many years, I have been on many courses myself, I have 3 degrees and I LOVE reading. So, I still value gaining knowledge and understanding how things work and exploring different perspectives on the world. It’s just that I know with every cell in my body that unless I also explore the inner perspective the value is limited.

We can connect with that inner perspective in many ways – meditation, journaling, painting, drawing, music and anything we do which relaxes us and gets us out of our head - the key point is that we need to invest energy, attention and effort in it in the same way as we do with traditional “work”.  The rewards of doing so are worth so much more than the money we get at the end of each month, the promotion, the extra responsibility.  The rewards are freedom, fulfilment, joy and peacefulness.

If you are curious about doing some inner work all you need to do to get started is commit to giving yourself 5 minutes each day to stop, sit quietly, close your eyes and be open to noticing what comes into your awareness. Doing that regularly will start to give you a whole new sense of yourself and that is where the work begins.   I also recommend checking out the short video series I have made to support people dive into the world of inner work.

(If you have already started the inner work and want to go further, get in touch and we can book in time for a conversation about what that might look like for you).