Alignment! It’s a buzzword in business and in the coaching space. But what does being in alignment meannnn??
I go the chiropractor and when I think of alignment I think of the chiropractor. So when I first started hearing that my life and business needed to be in alignment with each other, I understood the concept but for real though….what does it mean?!
In my own simplest of explanations — being in alignment means everything falls into place as it should.
I look at it as a more practical version of, “everything happens for a reason.” I do believe everything happens for a reason but I also believe we have more control of those “happenings” than we sometimes think. That area in between having the control and things just happening, is being in alignment.
Related: How a Puzzle Led Me to Start My Own Business
Give Me an Example!
I think the best way to explain being in alignment is explaining what being OUT of alignment is like. Because when we’re IN alignment it’s beautiful, and easy, and filled with synchronicities. It’s harder to define being IN alignment because you just know it, when you know it. When you’re IN it, it’s good, it’s fantastic. But when it’s bad, ooooh baby, it can get bad!
Being out of alignment….that’s the struggle bus. That’s when all the things seem to crashing down in one area of life and then spill over into another aspect of life.
Say you get some bad news at work. The promotion and pay raise you’ve been expecting is now delayed for months. You’re angry, sad and depressed about it so you don’t hit the gym like you normally do on your way home from work. Then once you’re home, you notice the kid’s stuff is literally in every corner of the house, nothing is where it is supposed to be. It would have been really nice if your spouse had dinner ready, but nope, now you have to feed everyone. You make dinner but you’re angry at your spouse because they didn’t cook or ask the kids to clean up after themselves, and you storm off to bed after dinner instead of snuggling with your kids before bed or talking about your bad day at work with your spouse.
That bad news at work kicked you out of alignment at work, at the gym, with the kids, and with your spouse. When we’re not in alignment in one aspect like work, it trickles into the other areas too. Sometimes it doesn’t happen as obvious or as quickly as the example above though. Sometimes it’s a slower burn that we don’t really notice, until something big happens and BAM, everything is out of alignment.
Related: Layoffs Lead to Impact and Income
And This Matters Why?
I like to say that when your life, business AND content are synchronized and in alignment, you can do anything! Opportunities fall into your lap, and you easily accept (or decline) them. Decisions are clear. Struggles are conquered. You are aligned with what you want.
But if something in your life, business or content is out of wack, the others soon will be too. If something is going on in your personal life, your business will soon be affected. If something is going on in your business, your content will soon be affected. Or some variation of it all!
It’s a lot harder to show up when you’re on the out-of-alignment struggle bus. Or maybe you do decide to show up in your content, despite the fact that in reality you’re dodging life and business bombs in the background. So you don’t exactly show up authentically and now you feel like an imposter. And if you’re feeling like an imposter, now you may start second guessing your business ideas. And round and round the spiral continues, because you’re out of alignment.
How Do I Fix It?
The more you recognize when you are IN alignment, the faster you will be able to recognize when you are being pushed OUT of alignment. Because it’s going to happen, all the time. That’s life! And business! And content! 😜 You will fall out of alignment from time to time and that’s completely okay! It’s being able to recognize it quickly and do the things to get yourself back on track that count more.
If you’re feeling the pull of being out of alignment, try some of these steps to get yourself back on track.
Step Away: Whatever it is, take a set back and ask yourself what’s really going on?
Assess: What’s the underlaying struggle here. Am I mad my spouse didn’t make dinner or am I disappointed my hard work wasn’t recognized at work.
Take Action: What can I do to change it? What can I do to get myself back on track because I’m the only one who can get myself back on track. I can be angry at my spouse for not cooking dinner or I can request a meeting with my boss and ask what I can do to make it clear that promotion is deserved.
