One reacts. The other responds." Such a clean way to draw that line — most of us know the difference in hindsight but rarely catch it in the moment.
And I liked that she didn't promise the voice solves anything — just that it reminds you you're okay. That's a smaller, more honest claim than most of these pieces make, and it lands better for it. Carried with care!
I didn't want the inner voice to become another promise that everything will work out or that it will solve our problems. Sometimes its role is much smaller... helping us pause, recognise what we're feeling, and remember that we can stay with ourselves even when we don't yet know what to do.
And you're right about reacting versus responding. Most of us can see the difference afterwards. The real practice is catching that tiny space between the two while we're actually in the moment.
This is a terrific visual: "we carry our anchor with us." Journaling is what taught me the difference between checking in with myself and checking in with what others think of me. I've found in my work, that often the hardest part isn't learning to trust the inner voice, it's un-learning the habit of outsourcing that trust in the first place. Curious how you'd describe the moment someone first notices they've been anchoring to the wrong thing .
I love that distinction between checking in with yourself and checking in with what others think of you.
I think the first real sign is often a feeling of misalignment… when the outside response looks right - approval, success, reassurance - but something inside still feels unsettled.
You start noticing that many of your decisions have been shaped by what will be accepted, praised, or understood by others rather than what actually feels right for you.
And once you notice it, you can’t quite unsee it.
For me, that’s where the shift begins. Not necessarily with a dramatic decision, but with asking a different question: If nobody else had an opinion about this, what would I choose?
That question can reveal a lot about where we’ve been placing our anchor. 💛
Learning to pause and listen to that inner voice can take time, but once we start paying attention, we often hear things we had been ignoring for years.
What stayed with me is the idea that clarity doesn’t always arrive as a sudden answer, but often appears only when we slow down enough to listen. I also really liked the shift from “fixing” to simply “returning.”
I think we often approach ourselves as if something needs to be fixed before we can feel at peace. But sometimes there isn’t anything new we need to become… we simply need to return to ourselves and hear what we’ve been too busy to notice.
And you’re right about clarity too. It doesn’t always arrive as a clear answer. Sometimes it appears gradually, once we’ve created enough space to hear ourselves without all the noise around us.
I’m really glad those two ideas stayed with you. 💛
I think for most part we ignored this inner voice as we were growing up.
Reason is because we were told what to do most of the time and also because the inner voice almost always suggests the hardest path.
And since it suggests the hardest path we keep on ignoring it and thus the voice keeps on fading into the background. If we keep on ignoring for a long time it almost completely disappears.
But during times of extreme stress or pain the inner voice grows louder and calms us down.
Some of us start paying attention to it more. And as we start paying attention to it even when we don't have stress or pain it grows louder. And then we realise that those hardest paths which it asked us to take like a decade ago was actually the path which would give us everything in life and utmost fulfillment.
Thus begins this extraordinary relationship with ourselves which is going to carry us to our best life.
I think the inner voice may come from our subconscious mind as it is said that our subconscious has all the answers we need.
Or it may come from a higher version of ourselves.
Very less is known about the subconscious mind and I really want to explore that part.
I think you’re right that we often learn to override that inner voice quite early in life. We’re taught what we should do, what is sensible, what is expected… and sometimes the voice inside us is asking for something that feels much harder or less certain.
I also love what you said about it becoming louder when we start listening again. Perhaps the voice itself doesn’t disappear as much as we become less practiced at hearing it.
And the question of where it actually comes from is fascinating. Is it our subconscious processing things we haven’t consciously recognised yet? Intuition built from everything we’ve experienced? Or something we might describe as a higher part of ourselves?
I don’t think we fully know. But that uncertainty makes the exploration even more interesting.
And I completely agree that developing that relationship with ourselves can become one of the most valuable journeys we take. Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful perspective. 💛
One reacts. The other responds." Such a clean way to draw that line — most of us know the difference in hindsight but rarely catch it in the moment.
And I liked that she didn't promise the voice solves anything — just that it reminds you you're okay. That's a smaller, more honest claim than most of these pieces make, and it lands better for it. Carried with care!
I didn't want the inner voice to become another promise that everything will work out or that it will solve our problems. Sometimes its role is much smaller... helping us pause, recognise what we're feeling, and remember that we can stay with ourselves even when we don't yet know what to do.
And you're right about reacting versus responding. Most of us can see the difference afterwards. The real practice is catching that tiny space between the two while we're actually in the moment.
Thank you for reading it with such care. 💛
Certainly! You are welcome!
This is a terrific visual: "we carry our anchor with us." Journaling is what taught me the difference between checking in with myself and checking in with what others think of me. I've found in my work, that often the hardest part isn't learning to trust the inner voice, it's un-learning the habit of outsourcing that trust in the first place. Curious how you'd describe the moment someone first notices they've been anchoring to the wrong thing .
I love that distinction between checking in with yourself and checking in with what others think of you.
I think the first real sign is often a feeling of misalignment… when the outside response looks right - approval, success, reassurance - but something inside still feels unsettled.
You start noticing that many of your decisions have been shaped by what will be accepted, praised, or understood by others rather than what actually feels right for you.
And once you notice it, you can’t quite unsee it.
For me, that’s where the shift begins. Not necessarily with a dramatic decision, but with asking a different question: If nobody else had an opinion about this, what would I choose?
That question can reveal a lot about where we’ve been placing our anchor. 💛
I need this , it’s true it’s in you !! Just have to listen to your self 🙏
Learning to pause and listen to that inner voice can take time, but once we start paying attention, we often hear things we had been ignoring for years.
What stayed with me is the idea that clarity doesn’t always arrive as a sudden answer, but often appears only when we slow down enough to listen. I also really liked the shift from “fixing” to simply “returning.”
I think we often approach ourselves as if something needs to be fixed before we can feel at peace. But sometimes there isn’t anything new we need to become… we simply need to return to ourselves and hear what we’ve been too busy to notice.
And you’re right about clarity too. It doesn’t always arrive as a clear answer. Sometimes it appears gradually, once we’ve created enough space to hear ourselves without all the noise around us.
I’m really glad those two ideas stayed with you. 💛
Very smart.
True. Totally true.
I think for most part we ignored this inner voice as we were growing up.
Reason is because we were told what to do most of the time and also because the inner voice almost always suggests the hardest path.
And since it suggests the hardest path we keep on ignoring it and thus the voice keeps on fading into the background. If we keep on ignoring for a long time it almost completely disappears.
But during times of extreme stress or pain the inner voice grows louder and calms us down.
Some of us start paying attention to it more. And as we start paying attention to it even when we don't have stress or pain it grows louder. And then we realise that those hardest paths which it asked us to take like a decade ago was actually the path which would give us everything in life and utmost fulfillment.
Thus begins this extraordinary relationship with ourselves which is going to carry us to our best life.
I think the inner voice may come from our subconscious mind as it is said that our subconscious has all the answers we need.
Or it may come from a higher version of ourselves.
Very less is known about the subconscious mind and I really want to explore that part.
I really enjoyed reading your reflection on this.
I think you’re right that we often learn to override that inner voice quite early in life. We’re taught what we should do, what is sensible, what is expected… and sometimes the voice inside us is asking for something that feels much harder or less certain.
I also love what you said about it becoming louder when we start listening again. Perhaps the voice itself doesn’t disappear as much as we become less practiced at hearing it.
And the question of where it actually comes from is fascinating. Is it our subconscious processing things we haven’t consciously recognised yet? Intuition built from everything we’ve experienced? Or something we might describe as a higher part of ourselves?
I don’t think we fully know. But that uncertainty makes the exploration even more interesting.
And I completely agree that developing that relationship with ourselves can become one of the most valuable journeys we take. Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful perspective. 💛
🙏 thanks .
🫂
Yeahhhh