Imagine that you arrived on earth with a built-in GPS device embedded inside of you. It was programmed before you were born, and it contains all the directions you’ll ever need in this lifetime. This system is designed to precisely target the work you were meant to do, work which uses your unique talents to benefit all.

Even when your life feels like it’s not moving forward--your career is slipping through your fingers, relationships you used to count on are shifting and changing--you will move through this phase and emerge on the other end with a more powerful direction than ever before. You’re just getting a little nudge from the universe, because it’s time to get back on your path. Nudging is what’s going on when you get fired, laid off, rejected, hired or promoted, or when your business goes bankrupt. Your life is all on purpose. There are no accidents. Every event, circumstance and relationship has been nudging you to follow your true path and do your great work.

We live in a world of constantly changing growth cycles. When you’re done with one cycle of learning, it’s done with you. Move on, so the universe doesn’t have to nudge you—or kick you in the butt. Before you were born, your soul knew what it needed to master in order to evolve to its highest good; you knew that evolving your soul would help thousands of people around you. You understood that you could choose to live up to your fullest potential, use your divine energy to master circumstances, and use your talents to raise the vibration of the planet through your great work. Or you could give in to depression, sadness, anger, fear and desperation, and not live up to the powerful divine potential you set for yourself. It would be your choice.

And now, here you are! Your boss announces the company is downsizing and won’t need your services anymore; you’re passed over for a coveted promotion; your real estate investments flop. Instead of falling into victim mode, assuming the worst and blaming people and circumstances around you, say “Thank you! I must have been really off my true path to get kicked this hard.” Then ask, “What do I want my life to look like now?” Take one step in that new direction. You’ll feel better immediately.

When we’ve fallen off of our true path, our loved ones get fed up with us, bosses fire us, co-workers complain about us, and we stop attracting clients and customers. If you’ve just been nudged, wake up. You’re not a victim. You’re being reminded that you need to go in a direction that’s closer to your true self, your naked self and the work you came here to do. And listen up now, or the nudging will only get worse. When everything is slipping through your fingers, let it go. When you’ve lost a job, let it go. Come up for air and look around you at the big picture of your life. Ask yourself, “What did I really come here to do?” It’s always bigger, better and more meaningful than what you’ve been doing.

Wouldn’t it be better if the world didn’t have to nudge you (sometimes painfully) to get you back on path? Wouldn’t you prefer to see the road yourself and move forward through its twists and turns fearlessly, along the journey you’ve already signed up for?

You can. It’s just a matter of tuning in proactively, before you get nudged. Sit down and meditate. Feel your own vibration pulsing from you. Listen to your inner GPS unit saying, “Turn left” or “Go straight.” You have quiet dreams, desires and truths that you’ve stuffed away so that you will fit in, especially if you’ve spent years working in a rigid corporate environment. The more you can quiet the chatter of your mind, the more you’ll get back in touch with the real you, the naked you who came here on purpose.

Look around you at those people living “charmed lives.” Chances are they’re just living true to their predesigned paths. Your path is completely different from everyone else’s. Your truth will only come from within you, not from looking at what anyone else is up to. When you look at your neighbor and say, “I want to do what he does for a living,” you’re forgetting your own unique journey that you chose long ago. As we look around us at what others are doing, we lose our way.

When you’re firmly on your unique path, you feel impassioned and empowered by your life and work, no matter what anyone else is doing, and no matter what anyone thinks of you. Abundance flows to you, and your life is in harmony. When you’re not living true to what you signed up for, nothing works well: not jobs, not money, not even relationships. Here are five steps to get you back on path.

Let go! Open your hands and let it slip away. Quit grasping. Don’t be desperate. That’s a bad vibration, and it doesn’t get you anywhere worth going.

Be still. Quiet your mind and begin to meditate. Listen to your inner GPS device. Stop listening to what everybody around you is saying. Your soul knows the answer because your soul planned the journey. Your best friend doesn’t know your path, and neither does your spouse. Only you know.

Trust. The new path will reveal itself when the time is right. In spite of how things may seem right now, divine order is always in action. If it feels like nothing is working like it used to, release it all. Make room for the new.

Appreciate the divine dance we’re all doing, nudging each other to keep on path. What a truly elegant universe this is! Remember the last time you were nudged and where it might have gotten you.

Live naked! The ultimate work you came here to do is the first impulse you had as a child when you were open, innocent, intuitive and still true to yourself. Get back to that naked innocence and be the true you. Your life will flow forward gracefully again.

Career intuitive Sue Frederick presents workshops across the country. Her books include Dancing at Your Desk: A Metaphysical Guide to Job Happiness; BrilliantDay: 7 Solutions to Turn Your Life Around; and Top Ten Reasons to Stop Facing Reality. For more info visit www.BrilliantWork.com, www.CareerIntuitive.org, call 303-939-8574, or email Sue at Sue@BrilliantWork.com.