Kind Promise: I will reinvent whimsically.
As living creatures, our natural habitat is change. Our bodies change. Our understandings change. Our sense of who and where we are changes. Our stories change. Sometimes we seek change. Sometimes we have change thrust upon us. Either way, we are surrounded by waves of change. Pushshsh…Pullllll… Pushshsh…Pullllll…
This promise gives me an opportunity to respond to my changing world. Like a surfer catching a wave, reinvention invites me to move with what’s happening, find my balance and glide. Adding the word “whimsically” to this promise reminds me not to take myself too seriously.
I can ask three questions:
- Who do I want to be?
- What’s not working?
- What’s missing?
It’s important for me to remember that there are many answers to these questions and that the answers will change.
“Who do I want to be?” is one of my favorite questions. It’s one I ask nearly every day as I wake up. I answer it with my mission statements*and that gets me moving into the day with a happier attitude.
In the context of this question, I get to spend some time thinking/journaling about who I want to be in the world, what I want to be doing, and how. The more specific I can be in my answers to the first question, the more specific I can be when I answer questions 2 and 3.
Here’s an easy example: I’ve been waking up with neck pain. I want to be as pain-free as possible. I thought, “my pillow is not working.” I tried some other pillows, but I like the one I have. (It came from a chiropractor and has a divot for my head.) After some experimentation, I put a blanket underneath my pillow to raise it a couple inches and now my neck pain is gone. Easy fix.
The process is this:
- Identify a change I want to see
- brainstorm ideas for change
- research options
- try an idea
- evaluate
- repeat as required
Enveloped by change, it’s easy to get lost in fear or anger or bewilderment. That may be part of the process. Returning to the question “who do I want to be?” helps me calm the panic and paddle out into the unknown. With skill – and a little luck – I will find my way back to shore. It might even be fun.
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*Choose joy. Beam love. Breathe peace. Celebrate creativity. Increase compassion.