Trust and reflection

As I shared on Instagram the other day, in a story about scrambled eggs (you can read that here if you missed it), we often discount our own wisdom, looking outside ourselves for the answers we already have.

This topic has come up for me over and over—in conversations with friends and other creatives, in my current work supporting a beautiful soul, and in my own intentional writing.

One of the places I have to be careful about discounting my own wisdom (besides, apparently, in preparing breakfast) is in my love of learning.

As someone who loves to gather information and learn new things, I have to continually come back to questions like:

  • Do I have enough information to take action without learning any more?

  • Am I using what I have already learned and what I already know to be true?

  • Does what I’m learning feel true for me and my situation?

  • Am I learning because it’s interesting or because I believe I need fixing?


While reflecting on these and other questions can be uncomfortable and unsettling, I continue to do it (while at the same time being loving and gentle with myself when I forget or give in to the pull of comfort over growth).

Because for me to show up and truly help others in a meaningful way, and to show up and help myself in a meaningful way, I have to trust myself and my inherent wisdom.

But I realized, as I was writing this, that there’s another kind of reflection that has been grounding for me. And that is hearing someone I deeply trust reflect back to me truths that I already know but either was having a hard time seeing and hearing within myself, or was forgetting in the the moment.

This isn’t about asking for someone’s opinion or advice. It’s about having someone deeply listen to me and then simply reflect back what they hear, acting as a mirror for what’s already inside of me. This helps me see the wisdom I already hold, and learn to trust my intuition even more.

But that’s my experience. Here are some reflection questions to help you dig in a bit more to what’s true for you.

  • Are there places or situations in my life where I deeply trust the wisdom I already hold?

  • Are there places or situations in my life in which I discount the wisdom I already hold?

  • What do I ask for others’ advice or opinions about?

  • What do I do when I receive others’ advice or opinions?

  • What helps me tap into my own wisdom?

  • Who in my life is a mirror for my own wisdom?


Sitting with these and other questions is a good way to open the door a bit wider to your own inner wisdom.

—

If you have thoughts about what I just shared, I would love to have a phone call or video chat to talk with you about them.

This isn’t about working together. One of my favorite things about sharing here is hearing your ideas and perspectives on things that I’ve been thinking about for a while, and I wanted to open up a new way to do that.

So if you’d like to talk about self-trust, inherent wisdom, reflection, or something else entirely, you can sign up right here!

(Note: I’ll be out of town the next couple of weeks, so spaces will be open beginning in June. I’d truly love to talk with you.)

Until then,
With much love,
Erica

Here’s how I can act as a mirror
for you and your own inherent wisdom.

Above, I talked about how powerful it is to have someone reflect back to me truths that I already hold.

And that is exactly what I do in Core Message Coaching (this is getting a new name soon; stay tuned!).

I listen to all that’s going on inside of you, and then I mirror it back to you in a way that feels both deeply true and also full of fresh clarity and exciting realizations.

It’s an honor to act as a supportive mirror in this way.

Erica Midkiff