You Never Regret Connecting Inward

A client said to me the other day, “You never regret connecting inward”, and this made me pause. In fact, in many ways,  that was just the message that I needed to hear.  

Then, as these synchronicities often go, I found a video clip from Caroline Myss in my email a few days later, with a similar message. She said something along the lines of, “Here is an absolute truth: you were not born knowing yourself. You're a stranger to yourself…your journey in life is essentially a journey of getting to know you…someone just forgot to tell you”.

I found myself reflecting and holding both those potential truths. Following my own inner pathway, my client was right, I have never regretted connecting inward. And while I can confidently say I spend 24 hours a day with myself, I still discover parts of myself that surprise me. There is something deeply humbling in recognising that we can spend an entire lifetime with ourselves and still be surprised. I have actually found I really like surprising myself, at least I am never bored!

But this message is twofold: I will never regret my journey inward, and this is not a one-time experience. Not for any of us. Connecting inward is a rhythm or a cycle. A returning and reconnecting, and then a rising from within. And often in surprising ways.

My own life has shifted dramatically many times, and in ways I have often resisted. At these times, I found myself in that in-between space I spoke about in my last blog. I was no longer who I had been, but not yet fully stepped into who I was becoming.

Yet, during these times, there is always so much I learn about myself, I shift, change, grow and transform. It often isn’t loud, or even particularly visible in my outer world at times, but it is always surprising. I get to know myself in a whole new way. And, most recently, while I recognise that the catalyst for my journey inwards was not what I would ever have wished or wanted, it was necessary.  

I hadn’t realised that my own container had become just too tight, too small. I was ready for an upgrade, ready for a new me, even if I had no idea who that was.

Sometimes, in travelling inward, I encounter more shadows; other times, a new opening emerges, bringing different gifts and strengths. Yet, even with all of that, with the uncomfortable bits and messy bits, I have never regretted connecting inwards, not once, and my client is right, I don’t imagine I ever will.

The journey inward is often the boldest one we will take. Not because it is loud or visible, but because it asks us to meet ourselves honestly. Fully. Without distraction. And that is not always comfortable. But each time we go inward, we emerge changed. Not necessarily louder. Not necessarily faster. But more aligned. More aware. More whole.

Because in that seeing, something powerful happens. We begin to really know ourselves.

As we bring more of ourselves into conscious awareness, we begin to see things we hadn’t noticed before: patterns, reactions, shadows, strengths, contradictions. Parts of ourselves that don’t quite fit the identity we thought we had neatly wrapped up.

But it is the duality of grappling with our shadows and our uncovering more of our light that matters deeply. Because true empowerment doesn’t come from denying the parts of ourselves that feel uncomfortable. It comes from knowing them. Understanding them. Meeting them with curiosity rather than judgement.

To live consciously is not to be perfect. Nor is it about spiritually bypassing. It is simply about being aware. And it is in that awareness that we can make informed choices, to be really conscious in our lives, to become truly empowered.

The other day, I noticed myself behaving in a way that didn’t feel aligned. A way that, in that moment, made me feel like I was becoming someone I didn’t particularly like. And instead of criticising myself or spiralling into self-judgment, and trust me, I do not need any encouragement with that! This time, I paused. I stepped back. I met myself with curiosity and connected inwards.

I found myself saying almost out loud, “Oh… that’s interesting.”

That small moment of curiosity changed everything. Because within that pause was a doorway.

A doorway to ask:

What shadow am I dancing with here?

What is it signalling?

What is being activated?

What needs my attention and why?

And from there, something powerful opened: a choice!

To continue unconsciously… or to respond consciously.

That, to me, is the essence of this work. Not perfection, but presence. Not control, but awareness. Not bypassing, but meeting ourselves fully. Calling out the shadow we are dancing with and asking what it is signalling, and what we choose to do with that information. What do we make it mean?

That is, for me, what life and true empowerment are all about, consciously choosing and consciously living.

It is understanding that no matter who we are, what we know, the positions in life we hold, we are all human, and as such, all part of the human condition. We all choose whether we dance with our shadows or play with and to our strengths, and sometimes we will need to do both.  

Enacting choice doesn’t have to be big; even the smallest of actions can ripple beyond what we might imagine. Even history and myth teach us that.

Yesterday, I was reading about Eris, often seen as a disruptor and catalyst. She is depicted with the infamous golden apple inscribed “Kallisti” — “for the fairest.” A single act: throwing the apple into a wedding feast already primed with tension. What followed? The Trojan War… and eventually, through Aeneas, the founding lineage of the Roman Empire. A small act that had huge ripples.

And we are no different. From our inner wars, challenges and frictions we grow, and we never know the seeds that are planted for the futures we open up.   

Now, I am not suggesting we instigate chaos for the sake of it.

But what I am inviting is this:

To recognise that small moments matter. A shift in awareness. A different response. A boundary spoken. A truth acknowledged. A moment of choosing yourself.

These are not insignificant. They are catalysts for something bigger, something greater. And just as small acts can create destruction, they are also catalysts that can create healing. Alignment. Transformation.

One small move inward. One small act of self-trust. One small moment of choosing differently. And suddenly, something begins to change.

In a world that often feels divided, noisy, and demanding, it is easy to look outward and feel powerless. But the truth is, the most consistent place we can create change is within ourselves.

As above, so below, as within, so without!

When we become more aware, more grounded, more aligned, we meet the world differently. We respond differently. We are different. And that matters now more than ever.

In all my work with myself and my clients, I truly believe that when one woman reconnects to herself, when she realigns to her truth, when she rises from within, she does not do so in isolation. She shifts the spaces she walks into, the relationships she holds, the energy she brings. When one woman rises, we feel it, and we are all invited to rise too.

So perhaps this is the continuation of the journey I began sharing last time.

From movement…To stillness…To inward connection…To quiet emergence.

Not rushed. Not forced. Not performative. But real.

And if you find yourself here, noticing, questioning, becoming, trust that!

Even the smallest step inward is a powerful one that you really won't regret.

While many of us spend much of our lives seeking our purpose, the one thing we were given a life to do, be, pursue or even offer to the world as our gift, what if it was just as simple as “get to know yourself…someone just forgot to tell you”.

As always, if you are navigating your own inner shifts and feel called to explore this work more deeply, please feel free to reach out. I would love to journey with you. You can find out more about how to work with me here.

I will soon be opening space for women’s coaching circles, spaces to reconnect, realign, and rise from within. More on that soon, so watch this space.

With warmth and curiosity,

Johanna

Curiously-U – Transformational coaching for women