If you asked futurists from the past, it would involve nuclear fuelled vacuum cleaners, antenna hats, disposable socks and mail sent via rockets. If the movies predicted the future, humans would be on the way to Mars, facing the end of the earth via apocalyptic climate change or being invaded by Aliens who can only see us if we make a sound.
Hmm...some of them might be true…
But 2020 is unique.
2020 is a once in a 359 year event. It is a time where Saturn, Jupiter and Pluto come into planetary alignment. In Lunar circles, this begins a period called the Great Transformation and with it predictions of great change.
But these are once again purely predictions. Educated guesses with varying Bayesian probabilities.
On a personal level, we also link predictions to calendar events. When the clock ticks over to a new year, we look ahead to a year of hope and possibility.
We have the chance to press reset and to dream big. And for a while we drive with zest and the best intentions toward these goals.
But so often this is not enough.
We exhaust our limited willpower to stay strong and shift our everyday habits and end up often back where we started, or sometimes even further back.
Change is hard.
And transformation is even harder.
So how do we create the future we so desperately desire. How do we write our own narrative? It first begins with our mindset. As Pema Chodron writes in “The places that scare you”, we have two choices:
“Either we accept our fixed versions of reality - or we begin to challenge them.”
Change is constant in life but from a physiological point of view, we battle a body determined to protect us and maintain homeostasis. A growth mindset, as popularised by Carol Dweck, gives us the freedom to see that development is possible, growth is not linear and that mistakes are purely attempts that haven’t worked. Adding the word “yet” to any utterance of defeat completely reframes it.
I can’t do this...YET
It’s not working...YET
A growth mindset helps us frame change with compassion. We will fall over. We will make poor choices but how we respond to these instances is what determines the next steps. If you beat yourself up, you reinforce your previous fixed version of reality. If you practice compassion and see growth in the moment, you will learn and grow. Heck, even the GOAT himself (Greatest Of All Time), Michael Jordan made mistakes. He missed 24,537 shots throughout his career but people hardly remember any of the misses. It was the shots he took after the misses that are always remembered. Coupling a growth mindset with deep introspection enables us to be open and curious, to live life from a “Yes And” position.
So “Yes And” to that shot, “Yes And” to that move and “Yes And” to growth. This is exactly why we are creating a rare gathering of Flow enthusiasts in a mind-blowing location. This exclusive gathering brings together flow enthusiasts, experts, entrepreneurs, athletes or other professional performers. We will come together to unlock the mysteries of flow, synergise, and make a difference to ourselves and other. Join us….yes, that means you!
15th, 16th & 17th January, 2020 – Indonesia
Get ready to swim with manta rays, meet kindred spirits, and embrace a better future. Your precious few days will be packed with provoking workshops, interesting stories, and immersive activities that you will remember for years to come.
To register your interest simply click this link. After that buckle your seat belt, and lock in for a memorable couple of days.
Until then, ask yourself two questions:
What would I like to happen in my life?
What am I pretending not to know?
These questions require deep introspection and a willingness to face the raw truth. They are also how renowned Harvard Adult development expert, Robert Keegan, explains that we zoom out from our lived subjective experience and view life objectively from above. Keegan calls this the Subject/Object shift and viewing life from above allows us to see the nuance of our own experience objectively. We can be less reactive. We can see our blind spots. We can create our own narrative. This leads of a development in complexity. We are becoming more self aware.
It is always comforting to remember that the universe is conspiring to help you, not restrict you, when you are listening.
Written by Steve Brophy, edited by Cameron Norsworthy