Change unfolds in many ways. It can be inspired by our heart as a desire to act, or placed upon us as a random act. There’s also change we make restlessly to distract ourselves from our current situation, or when we sense an emotion we don’t want to feel.

Some might say change is change, and how we get there doesn’t matter, as long as we move through it. And in some ways that’s true.

However, when we make space and time to connect to the voice within ourselves, our intuition, we can see how the energy of change does matter when it comes to how we navigate the experience.

When we take action on inspired change, we are patient and committed, working towards goals and shifts, being as kind to ourselves as possible. This type of willing change is rooted in the desire to transform and break old patterns, putting ourselves on track with something more authentic and empowering for our path.

On the other hand, restless change is ungrounded. It’s similar to an anxious feeling that can’t be satiated. We can also have trouble focusing on the “why” behind the change, because there’s no real purpose; we are just trying to distract ourselves from feeling by projecting bits of energy everywhere, like dandelion fuzz.

On the latest episode of the Flirting With Enlightenment podcast, I talk about why being able to tell the difference between inspired change and restless change is so important to our livelihood, creativity and self-expression. It’s also an essential tool for keeping ourselves grounded and alert to self-sabotaging behaviors. In addition, on the podcast I share a few tips to help build a personal practice of self-awareness around understanding the difference between inspired and restless change.

When we are able to tune in and sense how it feels when we are following an inspired change, it’s much easier to tell when restless change is trying to divide and distract us.