Do you ever have an overwhelming number of possibilities for something you want to present, or teach, or write about, or learn about, and you don’t know which one to choose or choose first? Alternatively, do you need a good idea generator and evaluator?  Here is a really useful way to organize your thinking and make the best choice.  I call it the I-SOULE model.

1.  First give some thought to your INTENTION.    Some people might call this your Mission.   It is the most important step!  You want to make sure that what you choose to do is in harmony with what you want your life to serve.  Keep this in mind as you do the rest of the practice.

2.  Next, brainstorm all the possibilities for projects or choices or opportunities that you can think of, that are related to what you want to teach, write or learn about.  In true brainstorm fashion, you just write down everything that comes to mind, without judging or evaluating or rethinking.  You can do this in any way you like.  I particularly like using mind mapping.  And because I like to work on the computer (you may not!) I have a simple but elegant mind mapping tool that is fun and easy to use, called MindNode.  But doing this on paper works just as well.

Now look at your results.  Notice what ideas are similar, or that can be grouped together.  Maybe your intuition will surprise you with some interesting combinations that you hadn’t thought of, or new ideas altogether.

3.  Pick five possibilities that you like.

4.  Make a grid, with the five choices listed vertically in any order.
Across the top, list these categories:
MAKES MY HEART SING (I abbreviate this as Sing, for the S in the name of the protocol)
OUGHT TO
USEFULNESS
LEARNING
EXPERIENCE

5.  Take a moment with each idea to feel into whether it is an Ought-To or a Heart Sing.  The Ought-To’s will show up in thoughts like “Well, I really need to make money and so I ought to do this one because it would bring in the most income,” or “Even though this one isn’t my favorite one, I really should do it first because __________ (fill in the blank), and after that I can do the projects that I really want to do. ”

Some people find it really hard to differentiate between their Ought-To’s and Heart Sing’s.  So many tangled thoughts and unconscious biases get in the way.  If you find yourself really stuck here, maybe it is a good time to get some help outside your own head!  Find a friend to talk about it with.  Tapping can help, if you are familiar with EFT.  Find a practitioner to work with, someone who can help you feel into your own body’s messages about the difference between an Ought-To and a Heart Sing in you.  This is really important!  (Not only in this decision making process, but in making any choices, or choosing any direction.)

6.  For each of your five options, choose either the Ought-To column or the Heart Sing column, and write the number, 1-5, that measure the your intensity of your response to that choice.

I am only going to talk here about how to use the Heart Sing category in our grid.

Your Ought To’s…well, you can deal with them in your own way! Of course you can always choose an Ought-To project, you have the right.  But it is SO MUCH MORE FUN, and ultimately productive, to do anything that makes your heart sing!  Just saying.  (So make a separate list for your Ought-To’s.  You can still apply the same process I am discussing here, if you want to.)

So, now you have 5 possibilities (you did go back and replace the Ought-To’s with other Heart Sing-ish projects, didn’t you?).

7.  For each project you listed, go through each category and rate each one 1-5.  5 is high, 1 is low.

SING  I  believe that life basically comes down to Yum and Yuck.  Every choice you make makes you feel happy inside, or it makes you feel some equivalent of Yuck.  Knowing which is which is maybe the most important skill we can develop in life.  It may seem obvious, but it often is not so obvious, especially if you are someone who in the past had to leave your body to survive.   People who have experienced emotional, physical or sexual abuse know this experience.  If this thought resonates with you, it is exceptionally important for you to learn how to sort out the difference between saying yes and saying no to something or someone. To survive, you may have had to say “yes” in a way that was actually a “no” to your body.  That may have led to misunderstanding what is a true Yes and what is a true No as you grew up.

Ideally we choose only (or at least mostly) the Yes that makes our heart sing.

OPEN— (Try replacing the “Ought To” frame with “Open To”)  Am I open to the possibilities?  Am I open to life being much more fluid and creative than I had been thinking?

USEFUL is important to me.  It means that anything that I do must have a deeper purpose, make a contribution to the world, in a joyful way. Of course doing something that makes me truly happy brings more happy energy into the world in itself, so the purpose can be just that.  It doesn’t have to be “world saving.” I always want to help my own and other people’s hearts sing.

If “Useful” is not as important a category for you, don’t judge yourself about that, just find a different quality that fits better.  (Using the first letter of each quality won’t spell SOULE then, but that is OK!)

LEARNING means not only how much I already know about the topic or issue, but also what I would like to know more about, what I want to research.  I aways find that I learn all kinds of unexpected things when I take on any new project.  Getting involved with a new project means opening yourself to new possibilities, new connections, new insights.  Something new and unexpected always emerges. It is interesting to imagine that you are partnering with the energy field, presence, consciousness of this project.  Imagine that it is something that really wants to take shape in the world, and it needs you to help make that happen.

EXPERIENCE—how much life experience do I have with this topic?   How well do I know it in my bones?  How did I get to know it so well?  What were the key experiences?  What could I share about this that would help other people in the same situation?

8.  Now, add up the total of the ratings in each column.  Notice what project comes out with the most points.  Notice too, how the results make you feel.  Make changes if it feels important to do that.

After I have done this I-SOULE process, I imagine partnering with the winning idea.  I just sit with it for a bit, and notice what happens.  The good ones always seem to sort of strike up an engaging conversation with my heart, and with what must be my Inner Planner, because right away I become aware of doors opening and ideas bubbling and flowing inside.  That is really the bottom line for me.  When an idea starts doing that generative bubbling, I know it is worth at least a start!

9.  Then I just keep this awareness with me as I do this project.  If I find myself losing the Heart Sing feeling, I know I have fallen off track.  Or maybe this project actually wasn’t the right one to begin with, for whatever reason.  I always give myself permission to change my mind.  I am not a “you started this, now you have to finish it;  you made your bed, now you have to lie in it” sternly self-punishing kind of person.  I am looking for what makes me happy above all.  Everything else flows from that.

Snail Image:  http://www.vmishchenko.com/#gallery-Snails
Putting the I-SOULE process in this form: my adaptation of an idea of Kristen Eckstein, ultimatebookcoach.com