Forget the “lose 5 pounds” and “stop drinking coffee” resolutions; this year, it’s time to use the powerful energy of a new decade to fi nally do the work you came here to do. These six steps will help you launch your new-and-improved career, and move closer to your life’s work. Which is not about losing 5 pounds or giving up coffee.

1. This will be the year that you remember who you really are and leave the fear behind. Quiet your mind each day through prayer or meditation; it’s like dipping into a deep pool of wisdom and inner guidance. Even a few weeks of a consistent practice
will help you start to realize what your true life’s work is – and how you can fulfill the mission of your soul. In the morning, take a few minutes to check in with your body, calm your mind, and express gratitude. Spend some time in meditation, if possible. A meditation practice doesn’t have to be long or formal. Even 10 minutes of deep breathing and quiet refl ection, if consistently practiced every day, can lead to miracles

2. This will be the year that you surrender to your inner guidance system – also known as intuition. Instead of talking yourself out of listening to your wise and powerful inner voice, you’ll begin to listen only to that inner voice, which provides answers you need to have a successful, meaningful life. This voice has gotten weaker over the years as you’ve paid less and less attention to it, and your fears have taken over. When you face a problem or issue in your job or career, does your mind start to run around like a crazy monkey, feeding on problems, worries and weaknesses? We call that “monkey mind.” This monkey mind has been talking you out of who you really are for as long as you can remember. It has gotten you where you may be today – confused and off your true life path. The monkey mind is not based on intuition. It’s based on fear. Here’s how you can tell the difference between fear and intuition: fear feels bad in your body. It makes you feel weak and hopeless. Intuition makes you feel strong, powerful, and on purpose.
Try this: when you’re faced with a decision, question or confusion in your life, notice what your mind and body do. If your monkey mind starts to send you into a spiral of fear, creating worst-case scenarios or projecting disaster, mentally say “Stop!” Then take a few slow, deep breaths into your belly. Feel your feet on the ground, or the
backs of your thighs on the seat of your chair. Then imagine you’re dropping
into your heart.

3. This will be the year that you use your energy to focus on positive solutions, rather than on what’s wrong with people and circumstances in your life. You’ll ask yourself “How can I use my gifts and skills to empower those around me to be their best selves and live up to their great potentials? And how can I use my gifts to make the world a better place, instead of focusing on what’s wrong with everyone and everything?”
When you begin to ask for guidance through prayer and meditation, and tap into your intuition, you’ll also begin to find ways in 2010 to empower others to their greatness and become a worker for positive change. This will be your new, abundantly successful
career.

4. This will be the year that you learn to trust your heart rather than your head. Stop thinking and start feeling. Ask yourself “When all else is stripped away and I don’t know the answers any more, who do I find inside?” It’s that stripped down, bare-naked self that is your soul, your gift, who you came here to be. Start living from that powerful,
passionate place again, and life will unfold to support you abundantly.

5. This will be the year that you heal your body. When you’re out of alignment with the work you came here to do, it can manifest in physical illness. If you’re not at ease in your work, you may experience “dis-ease.” This year, begin to recognize that you hold the
key to your health. One way to get there is by recognizing and supporting your soul’s deepest longings. Start to recognize which parts of your body are affected by dis-ease or lack of harmony; begin to tap in to what’s really going on in those areas, and reflect on how your lack of harmony in your career may figure in. Many excellent books on somatic illness can help guide you. And when you begin to follow your true life’s work, you’ll naturally eliminate dis-ease.

6. This will be the year that you experience the life of joy, abundance and fulfillment you came here to live. The path of meaningful and successful work has been waiting for you since you were born. Once you’ve begun to quiet your mind through a steady practice of prayer and meditation, and tune in to your inner guidance, you’ll begin to be more aware of your true mission – and how to get there. Once you’re doing the work you were meant to do, abundance will naturally follow.

Author and career intuitive Sue Frederick’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Yoga Journal, Natural Health and Fit Yoga, and at venues like The Crossings Retreat Center. She’s the author of Brilliant Day and I See Your Dream Job, released in September 2009. For more info, visit www.CareerIntuitive. org or call 303-939-8574.