How To Listen To Your 'Higher Self' And Use It To Improve Your Entire Life

We've all been in that position where we need a change in our lives, but we don't know how to make one, or we feel afraid to move.

During times like these, we tend to overthink what we want to do. We weigh the pros and cons, debate our choices to death and still we feel completely stuck, because we haven't once stopped to listen to our "higher self."

What's your higher self? It's that little voice inside you that tells you the truth. It's the same voice that gets written off as either paranoia, stupidity or silliness.

But your higher self will always come back to you patiently with the same message, no matter how hard you try to write it off. By following it, you give it the power it deserves and you give yourself faith and confidence in your own choices.

When people tell you to "listen to your gut," they're really referring to your higher self.

"Just follow your intuition," they say.  Is everyone speaking in inspirational catchphrases?

Actually, following the advice of your higher self is a lot easier than it seems, and these are the ways you can do it.

Pay attention to your own expiration date.

Milk comes with an expiration date when we buy it. It's a shame our relationships don't.

But even without an expiration, there are still signs that a relationship, job or our health has gone bad. Just like milk, a relationship can have the taste smell or look of something rotting.

Know those signs. Look at your past relationships, jobs, and ask yourself when you started to see them decay.

Recognize your truth.

Once you've noticed the signs of a crumbling relationship, either personal or professional, you'll be faced with a choice to leave or to stay.

Circumstances may prevent you from leaving right away, but one thing is for certain: Once you've recognized the truth, you can't un-know it.

You can spin the story a thousand ways, but you'll keep coming back to the same conclusion: This isn't working.

Stop relying on others' opinions.

One way we avoid dealing with situations is ironically by talking them to death. You can go over all the angles, get a ton of perspectives, and bore your friends to tears asking the same questions over and over.

It's OK to talk about solutions with a few trusted friends, but after a while, you need to pick one and go for it. That way you don't waste their time being an ASK hole.

Adopt an attitude of acceptance.

Look at the facts, not the the feelings. Feelings can be rationalized, argued over, compromised. Facts are just that: facts.

What facts have led you to the conclusion that something needs to change? Use those facts to inform your decisions, and eventually state your case, and of course remain open to new information along the way.

If you put a ton of money into moving across the country, but you're not happy there, ask yourself what facts have been leading to your discomfort. If it's something you can change, change it.

If not, accept it as fact, and ask yourself if this is something you're willing to live with.

Don't force the answers.

Answers have a way of revealing themselves to us, if we are patient enough to give them time.

Until we get an answer, it can feel as though we're stuck in the hallway of our life... somewhere in between living and waiting to live. It's hard to deal with change, of course.

But when we trust the process, everything will seem a lot easier.