Healing vs. Aligning: Why One May Keep You Stuck and the Other Sets You Free
- Dr. Kate Flynn
- Apr 13
- 3 min read
Intro
For most of my life, I was trying to heal.
I did the deep dives. The inner child work. The shadow excavations. And while some of it helped…most of it kept me spinning in circles—analyzing my pain instead of moving forward.
It wasn’t until I stopped trying to heal and started learning how to align that everything began to shift.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
1. Healing is past-focused.
You’re constantly asking:
“Where did this come from?”
“Why am I like this?”
“What’s the root of this pain?”
There’s value in understanding your history. But living there? That’s where people get stuck.
Aligning is present-and-future-focused. You stop asking why and start asking what now?
“What is my body telling me in this moment?” “
What’s the next aligned step?”
“How can I support myself in moving forward today?”
There is no figuring—only acceptance and power reclamation.
“This happened. I cannot change it. I do not blame anyone for it. I accept it, reclaim my energy from it, and I choose how to move forward.”
That reclamation of energy? Often a visual or creative process—art, dance, sound, or imagery. The fewer words, the less mental interference. The more clarity.
2. Healing keeps the mind in charge.
Even when you’re trying to “drop into your body,” it’s often the mind leading the charge. The mind wants to figure it out. It wants to fix. It wants guarantees.
Aligning returns the power to the body. You listen for that quiet internal signal—the one that doesn’t always make sense, but always feels right.
And in this work, alignment means:
Following your strategy and authority
Engaging your intuition
Living authentically
That's it. Literally.
3. Healing reinforces the belief that something is wrong with you.
You become the person who’s “working through it.”
Always processing.
Never quite there.
Aligning reminds you there’s nothing wrong—you’re simply misdirecting your life force. You’re not broken. You’re out of sync with your truth.
When you begin honoring your design and your rhythm, everything rewires. Meaning, the healing takes care of itself.
4. Healing is endless.
There’s always another pattern. Another thing to fix.
Aligning is actionable. You don’t have to “clear it all.”
You only have to start and you do that by following your body’s signals.
5. Healing is isolating.
You’re stuck in your story, disconnected from the present.
Aligning reconnects you to your human experience. Back in your body. Your creativity. Your joy. Your relationships.
It’s not about becoming someone new. It’s about remembering who you were before the world told you otherwise.
6. Healing gives you tools.
Often too many.
Aligning gives you structure. A rhythm. A path. A way to walk your truth in real time.
Alignment Turns Your Awareness Inward
When you’re aligned, your attention stops living out there—trying to fix or rationalize others.
You simply ask:
“Is it correct for me to allow this person into my life, just as they are?” “If so, in what capacity?”
That’s alignment. Clean boundaries. No judgment. No pressure to change anyone.
The Shift That Changes Everything
Healing got me started. But alignment set me free.
That’s why I created How to Human—a step-by-step journey that teaches you how to stop living from your mind and start living from your design.✨
Start the journey at www.howtohuman.guide
Have questions? Schedule a Free Discovery Call and let's chat.
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Did this resonate with you? I'd love to hear your response!