Are you living in flow?
The past year two years have been a major transition time for me. I went from working in a hospital practicing Western Medicine and knowing my schedule a year in advance, to having the flexibility to create a career path that uses a modern, integrative approach to healing. I learned so much from the journey. When I tried to control and plan everything, I was faced with some stress and hardships. Then I realized everything started to happen so perfectly the moment I started living in flow.
What is flow?
Flow is the opposite of planning. Trust me, I know this can be so hard to do because I was a complete control freak! How else do you think I got into medical school?! Flow is being open to recognizing when an opportunity is presenting itself AND seizing it. Living in flow is saying yes. When you’re asked to go somewhere that may be out of your comfort zone and not a part of your plan, say yes. Why not? What do you have to lose? Flow is seeing coincidences as more than just coincidences, because what are the chances that 3 different people, within the same week, told you to read the same book that magically changed your perspective about life during a difficult time.
Yes, we can have a general sense of what we want to do, where we want to go, and what we want our lives to be like. Yet, things can turn out way better than we could have ever imagined when there is room for spontaneity. Think about those memorable nights you ended up somewhere unexpected simply by saying yes to a casual invite and you met great friends or even a helpful business connection.
I remember when my high school friend Gary reached out to me recently to catch up. I almost said no because I was so busy working and trying to figure things out. At the time, I was actively searching for a producer for a docuseries I am creating. Sure enough, I met Gary for dinner and told him about the project. Within the week I found the perfect producer equally passionate about my project thanks to my dear old friend!
Choosing to surrender
Part of becoming our best selves is learning to release control and becoming malleable to life and unexpected situations. No matter how hard we try, we can’t control what happens and we can’t predict the future. Yes, you can manifest things, and even then you have to be open to how it presents into your life because it rarely arrives in the form you imagined. Have you ever tried to force something to happen and it didn’t turn out how you hoped?
Over the summer I moved to California. I only knew a handful of people there but I didn’t care because I love the Cali lifestyle, the weather, the nature, and more. The interesting thing is that no matter how much I wanted to be there, I kept being called back to New York because of work, friends, and family. I loved living out west, but it’s quite obvious, for the time being, that NYC is where I need to be, and choose to be because here is where there is flow. Sure I could have forced it anyway, and chosen to ignore the great things that were happening in NYC, but why would I cause myself stress? There is flow with my career in NYC, which even allows me to travel to get my weather and nature fix. And there is flow with the extraordinary people I am attracting into my life daily. Because I choose to live in flow, I now realize I’m not attached to living in any one place, or attached to anything really. I know I’ll always be exactly where is for my highest and best good.
No need to worry
When we choose to live in flow, there is no need to worry. Usually, we worry about things that never even happen. Worrying is one of the biggest wastes of time and energy. When we give up planning so perfectly, magic starts to happen. Just stay positive and optimistic. It will work out. It always does. I’m sure most of us can attest to that to. When was the last time you worried for no reason?
Just this week I booked a last minute retreat and was worried (yes, I even need to remind myself to stop) about my schedule overlapping with already booked clients. Sure enough, within 24 hours, it worked itself out perfectly, I get to work with all of my clients, and I didn’t even have to do anything. I just had to be patient.
Trust the process
When we’re on the right path, things will unfold in a wonderful way. And when we aren’t on the right path, things won’t seem to happen no matter what we do. Yes, we have to work hard for the things we want in life, and sometimes we can be veered off course and disappointed. What we really thought we wanted may not happen and that’s ok. Can you think back to any situations that were devastating at the time and now looking back it was truly a blessing in disguise?
If I think back, one of the most disappointing things in my life happened to me when I was in medical school. Getting into college and medical school was a breeze; there was total flow. After working in a dermatologist’s office I fell in love with the specialty and made a decision that it was what I was going to do with my life. So I ate breathed, and slept dermatology. I had all the things necessary to match and had no doubts in my mind. When match day came I was in Thailand. I’ll never forget I was driving in the back seat of a friend’s car in Bangkok when I decided to check my email. When I opened the email, I gasped, and I had to ask my friends to take me back to the apartment because I was so upset. I cried, I doubted myself, I felt embarrassed, and I was in complete shock. Luckily my friend Nick, my guardian angel that night, decided to stay in with me while the others continued the fun we had planned. As I sobbed through tears venting to him, he simply looked at me and said, “One day you’re going to look back at this and realize it was for a purpose. There are greater plans for you.” He was absolutely right, and I am forever grateful for him.
I trust to go where there is flow and I truly love everything about my life. It is unfolding so perfectly and I give thanks every single day.