A simple acronym can help us stay centered when we are at a crossroads.The idea came to me as I was preparing material for seminars based on my new book, When Life Changes, Or You Wish It Would: How to survive and thrive in uncertain times. I wanted to give students an experience of knowing that the unconscious — or intuition — will direct our attention to something we need to know—when we ask! The word AIM, as a mnemonic device, popped into my mind.

First of all, when you focus your attention on something—such as AIM—you tend to see it everywhere. We’ve all had the experience of wanting to buy a certain kind of car in a particular color, and then suddenly seeing those cars everywhere on the highway or in parking lots. As you read this article about the word AIM, you are sensitizing your conscious mind and programming the unconscious mind to notice this word. Therefore, tonight when you listen to the news, read the newspaper in the morning, pick up a book, or talk to a friend, somewhere you are going to see or hear this word AIM. It will be a gentle reminder that you can “put yourself on assignment” to find something you need, meet someone, or receive a new opportunity.

What message will AIM remind you of when you see it?

The word AIM will be an acronym, which answers the five most common questions that people ask when facing Life Changes or finding their Life Purpose:

1) How can I get clarity about what I’m supposed to do? 2) How do I choose between several options? 3) How do I know something is right for me? 4) How do I deal with the fear of making a change? 5) How do I stay focused and on track?

In this context, let’s look at the words that AIM might represent:

A = Authenticity, Attitude, Assignment, Awareness I = Intention, Imagination, Intuition M = Motivation, Moment

Each of these nine words is a reminder of how to move forward during times of uncertainty, so let’s define what they mean...

AUTHENTICITY is the feeling that who you are and what you do are one and the same. Authenticity is feeling that the inner and outer You are consistent.

The feeling of being authentic—that is, acting in tune with your values—automatically provides courage and confidence. A woman named Shirley from Las Vegas told me, “I went through some difficult times with my divorce, but because ‘I knew who I was,’ I could weather being stripped down to my core, and come out of the experience shaken but okay.” The suffering did not strip away a basic knowledge of who she knew herself to be—a survivor with a keen intelligence and a sense of humor who would inevitably spring back. When you make a choice, make sure it’s in alignment with who you really are. You’ll know you are on the right track if your choice makes you feel good about yourself.

ATTITUDE is your best chance of taking change in stride—and of course, that means having a Good attitude! You aren’t going to be able to stop your life from changing, and you are not always going to be able to change the things you want to change. However, it makes all the difference in the world if you have an open, curious, and optimistic attitude. Remember that old Zen story about the farmer who tells the Zen master that his horse ran away? The Zen master says, “Hmmm, who knows if it’s good or bad?” That’s having an open attitude.

ASSIGNMENT is the process of stating what you want to have or what you need to know, and then watching for it to show up. I have a good friend, Cori, who writes travel articles. She once had an assignment to write an article about golf courses from A to Z. She easily found a golf course for every letter of the alphabet except X. She kept searching for an X, but couldn’t find anything. Just before her deadline, she was driving somewhere and noticed that the car in front of her had a bumper sticker advertising the Winchester Mystery House near San Jose, CA. It said, “X Marks The Spot!” Since her intuition was highly attuned to “X,” she saw this bumper sticker as a possible answer. She decided to investigate golf courses in the San Jose area and found a noteworthy one, which allowed her to finish the article on time. Similarly, you, too, can put yourself “on assignment” whenever you are facing a decision or need to gather new information. Stay alert to whatever catches your attention.

AWARENESS of the potential gifts within a seeming obstacle helps you to stay open to all kinds of information, even when at first something seems to be an impediment or setback. There are no accidents, and everything happens for a reason.

INTENTION is the state of mind where you intellectually and emotionally deeply desire something. This goal or person may not be in your life at present, but you intend to do it or have it. If you don’t specifically know what you want (and many of us don’t know or are afraid to ask for what we want), concentrate instead on describing how you want to feel. You may not know where your next job is going to be, but make a list of feelings you’d like to have (e.g., “I want to feel excited when I get up in the morning.” or “I want to work with a really good group of people where I feel comfortable and creative.”) By your intention, you set a direction, while remaining open to something even better coming along.

IMAGINATION is that act of setting the intention and visualizing something that matters to you. Imagine eating a piece of chocolate mud pie with whip cream on top and a sprinkle of finely chopped walnuts. Imagination is the powerful radiating message that you send out to Life. It’s the magnet which starts to attract good things. Some teachers believe that daydreaming or imagining what you want, even for as little as 60 seconds a day, starts a mysterious chain of events that attracts into your life what you need or want.

INTUITION is the messenger that tells us something we need to hear that will move us in the right direction. At a crossroads, we tend to get caught up in fear, paralysis, depression, rationalization, or procrastination. These negative states tend to block true intuition. The good thing is that intuitive thoughts tend to be persistent. For example, you often think to yourself, “It would be good for me to go to graduate school.” or “It’s time to start my own business.” Usually the message keeps coming back.. Although you may feel a slight amount of fear about starting the new direction, intuition is usually not warning you about something as much as it is encouraging you to move outside your comfort zone in order to develop new or unrealized aspects of your life.

MOTIVATION is your reason for doing something. If you are making a choice for the wrong reasons (e.g., you feel desperate, you feel needy, you want to be taken care of, or you think you can get something for nothing), your project will ultimately bring you some form of failure or suffering. If you want to know if something is good for you, take a moment to ask yourself, “Why would I be doing this? Why do I really want this?” You may not get a completely clear answer, but your intuition will be your best source of guidance, even if it takes you twenty years to see that clarity in retrospect!

Staying alert and present as you participate in the MOMENT is a good way to surf through the chaos of being at a crossroads or uprooted chaotically. You cannot control events. You cannot control other people. Synchronicity happens when you work with what life presents to you. When you are worrying, you are either thinking about what you did in the past, or feeling anxious about the future, which cuts off your intuitive and rational process. Accept what’s in front of you, and stay alert for synchronistic messages that validate your positive intentions—for now. For example, I received an email from a client whom I am coaching in order to help her land a position in a certain company. She wrote,

This story shows: 1) she is enjoying the present moment after her meeting; 2) she is listening to the small voice of intuition even though she doesn’t know where it’s leading her. 3) Her previous intention creates the attention and awareness that immediately recognizes the three-faced clock as a synchronicity that validates her interest in the globally-based company. 4) By buying the clock, she further increases her intention and her confidence so that she can continue to enjoy the process of how her goals will manifest.

So….until next month…Take AIM!