A Smart Woman’s Guide to the Universe

Have you ever read the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy?

It is safe to say that it’s one of the funniest science fiction novels ever written.

Seconds before the Earth is demolished for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is saved by Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised Guide. Together they stick out their thumbs to the stars and begin a wild journey through time and space.

As a woman, trying to balance work, kids, husband, friends, parents and a gazillion other things, our lives on Earth are regularly demolished by something just like Arthur’s galactic freeway.

Friends move, parents get sick or die, husbands go through midlife crisis, kids have accidents.

Courageously we are trying to steer our ‘rocket’ through this meteor shower we call life.

Sometimes we get hit.
Sometimes we don’t make it to the moon.
Sometimes we don’t even get to lift off.

However, when we do, we need a guide, just like Arthur Dent, to save us and make sure our journey leads us to where we planned.

Here’s where The Woman’s Guide to the Universe comes in : Your GPS.

No, not the little gadget that you buy in a shop. Your internal GPS.

Huh?

Yup. You have an internal GPS, and a pretty sophisticated one at that.
The problem is that we are so surrounded by technological gizmo’s that we have completely forgotten how to use our built in system.

Well, today is your lucky day. Let me be Ford Prefect for you here and guide you through the realms of your very own GPS.

How to use your GPS to travel the Universe

1. Your current (honest) location: Planet A
   The GPS in your car get your location from satellites.
   Your internal GPS gets its coordinates from you. You need to tell it where you’re at. We often get this one wrong. Because we think or pretend to actually be somewhere else (further down the path, better, more competent/intelligent/…).
   So if you don’t want to get lost, you need to face up to your internal GPS and tell it like it is. ‘Yeah, I am stuck in this dead end job I hate and I don’t know how to get out of it.’

2. Your final (dream) destination: Planet B
   Where do you want to go? What do you want? What is your intention?
   It is not enough to say ‘I want to leave this dead end job that I hate’. Your GPS might probably just take you to the next corner, which is getting you fired or something else equally uncomfortable.
   Be specific. Give it an address. Paint the picture. Make a vision board. What is it that you want to do ‘instead’ of that dead end job? That’s your point B. And the clearer it is depicted, the bigger the chance of you getting there.

3. Forget about the HOW:
   Now you’re saying ‘Oh but that is like miles away! and I will never, ever, ever get there. I mean…HOW the hell am I gonna get there?’
   Stop it right there.
   Do you think that your GPS is asking this kind of drama questions? No. All the GPS does is tell you to turn right or left, to take the next step.
   So all you need to know is: what is your next step?

4. Getting lost:
   From time to time we get lost. We (have to) get off track because there are roadworks ahead, because we need to have a lunch break or because we just don’t want to continue because we had a bad day.
   That is perfectly okay.
   Remember, your GPS is drama free. It doesn’t say ‘See? See? I knew you’d screw it up. I knew you could never get there (in time)!’
   Nope. It just keeps pointing you in the right direction again. As long as your point B is clear.

5. Change scenery:
   Sometimes while zooming through the Universe on our way to Planet B, things happen. We get caught up in something. We can’t remember why we’re on our way to Planet B.
   No worries. Do a reset and just re-decide for planet B.
   Or, if circumstances call for it, change your path. Tell your GPS that your fed up with those boring highways and you want the touristy route.
   All your doing is changing the HOW (to get there), not the WHAT (your final destination).

6. Timing:
   When you are cruising through the Universe, a gazillion other people are too. And you not only have to deal with traffic, but also unforeseeable happenings. So plan enough time for your trip. Break it down. Remember to enjoy the journey.

7. Drama-free:
   When your own, internal GPS is well oiled, cruising the Universe becomes quite joyful.
   Because there is no drama. A GPS does not shout at you. It does not think ‘Geez, who does she think she is wanting to go to Planet B! Ts ts ts, planet B is for classy, professional women that know what they want’.
   Nope.
   Your GPS is is like little Gizmo from the Gremlins, a friendly little fellow who only means well. But if you feed him after midnight or get him wet (with your negative thoughts, insecurity, unclear direction, …) he will turn into a mean little gremlin that will do all it can to make sure you never get to your dream planet.

So, get clear, watch your thoughts and enjoy the ride!

10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1… Lift off,… we have lift off…