How To Begin 'The Work'
- Jennifer
- May 7
- 3 min read
An everyday guide to starting the path of self-inquiry and inner growth
You don’t need a crisis to begin the work.
You don’t need to wait until things fall apart. The truth is, many people begin from a quieter place: a restlessness they can’t name, a feeling that they’re not quite living in alignment with themselves, or the subtle exhaustion of keeping up appearances.
If you’re here, you’ve probably already begun.
You’ve noticed the patterns. You’ve started asking better questions. You’ve stopped reaching for quick fixes and started wondering what’s underneath it all.
This guide is for that moment. When you feel ready to start, but aren’t sure how.
1. Begin with honesty, not strategy
You don’t need a perfect plan. You need a willingness to tell the truth: to yourself, first and foremost.
Start by noticing how you show up in your life. What roles do you play? Where do you feel most inauthentic or constricted? Where are you performing, pleasing, or proving?
The work starts by observing without judgement.
“I’ve built a life that looks fine, but doesn’t feel real.”
“I always say yes, even when I mean no.”
“I don’t know what I want, only what others need from me.”
That kind of honesty is the doorway. Not analysis. Not solutions. Just truth.
2. Pay attention to your patterns
The unconscious reveals itself through repetition.
You don’t need to go digging, just watch what keeps happening. In your relationships. In your emotional triggers. In the moments you withdraw or explode or go numb.
Instead of asking, How do I stop this?, ask: What is this trying to show me?
That’s the shift. That’s the work.
3. Make space to feel
Most of us are brilliant at staying busy. But real inner work asks for stillness.
Space. Slowness. Feeling.
You don’t need to meditate for an hour or journal every morning (unless you want to). You just need moments in the day where you come back to yourself.
Check in. Breathe. Ask:
What am I feeling right now?
Where does this live in my body?
What do I need?
It’s simple. But it’s not always easy.
4. Welcome the parts you usually push away
The work isn’t about becoming your best self. It’s about becoming your whole self.
That means meeting the parts you’ve exiled: the scared one, the angry one, the needy one, the ashamed one. Not to fix them, but to listen. To include. To soften toward.
This is how we stop being ruled by our shadow, by bringing it into relationship.
5. You don’t have to do it all at once
There is no rush.
This is a lifelong path. It unfolds slowly, often in spirals. You’ll return to the same patterns again and again, not because you’re failing, but because each time you meet them, you’re a little more present. A little more honest. A little more willing to choose differently.
And finally,
there is no one way to do this work.
But it always starts here,
with presence,
curiosity,
and the courage to be with yourself as you are.
If you want support as you begin, you might explore a birth chart reading - specifically looking at Saturn’s placement in your chart. It can offer insight into the kind of work you’re being called toward, and where your inner teacher is already waiting to meet you.
✧ Read the guide: Getting to Know Your Saturn
✧ Book a Saturn-focused birth chart reading → here
For more detailed practices read this:
To learn more about 'The Work' of Saturn:
And to learn more about Saturn Himself:
A note on AI & my writing:
I use ChatGPT as a writing assistant—not as a writer. These are my thoughts, ideas, and words, shaped by my lived experience and deep love for self-work, self-awareness, the spiritual journey, and astrology. AI helps me refine, structure, and nudge me toward better phrasing, but the voice you’re reading is mine. I use it as a tool to help me put into words everything I believe is valuable in sharing my insights. Honesty matters to me, and this is simply one way I bring my thoughts to life.
Comments