Feeling connected with your innermost self is a wonderful thing. In personal growth, we talk plenty about ‘going within’.

But how do you actually do that?

Going within is a very personal practice and can feel awkward at first, particularly if you’ve spent years looking to others for answers.

In practical terms, connection means where we are placing our mind - what we are connecting our thoughts to and where we direct our attention. Establishing the new neural pathways takes continuous practise, but if you keep it up, you will reach a point where those pathways are cemented and going within takes very little effort at all.

Though it can feel clunky at first when we’re out of practise, the truth is we all know how to go inside ourselves. If someone asked you if you remembered to turn off the oven, or lock the door as you left the house, you automatically go within to find the answer. Your attention is no longer on the person asking from the outside world, it has shifted inside yourself as you connect with your memory.

Introspection is an incredibly valuable soft skill. And like all skills, it’s something you can hone and improve.

Set aside five minutes each day to practise. Sit quietly with yourself - no agenda, no goals, just drop inside and experience the connection with yourself without getting lost in your thoughts. All you need to do is be still, stay quiet and listen, even if in the beginning all you are listening to is your own resistance.