Who are you growing into?

As my life becomes more intentional, I spend more time thinking about who I want to be now. It would be lovely to say I’ve always done this. Sadly that’s not the case. But it truly is never too late to think about how you want to feel, how you want people to feel around you, what big things you want to do next. It recently occurred to me that I’m in the last third of my life and that it would be a splendid idea to choose who I will grow into next. If you agree, I invite you to ponder this as well – who are YOU growing into?

 

How do I want to feel?

It’s currently an overused word or concept, but I really can’t think of a better one – I want to feel full of joy. Even though there are times when this seems hard to do, we get to select what we focus on and how we wish to interpret that. We may have subconscious beliefs that create fear, resistance, doubt, guilt – all sorts of emotions – but ultimately we have the ability to choose how to move forward and which stories to believe. For me, joy is letting go of what weighs me down.

Therefore, I get to notice what brings me joy and focus on those things. I can be intentional about this. Focusing on problems and disaster and suffering does not help me, those around me, or the people being impacted. It just adds stress to the collective. I can have a better impact on myself and others by seeing the good things that are also out there or by spending my energy toward creating a solution.

 

How do I want others to feel around me?

I want people to feel safe, heard, seen, and appreciated around me. The best way I know to do that is to be kind. That doesn’t mean people-pleasing, losing myself, or erasing boundaries. I can be kind without it having a negative impact on me. I can still speak truth or say “no”. (In fact, I intend to also be kind to myself!) Kindness just means that I value others and that my emotions, words, and actions are aligned with that.

 

What big thing do I want to do next?

Because of the fact that this is the last third of my life, I spent a little time thinking about what roles “elders” have played in various cultures, and which of those I resonated with. Once you have a certain amount of lived experience, it seems selfish not to share what you’ve learned with others when they seek that from you. And I’ve started trusting my intuition and seeing that as a connection to a more universal collection of knowledge. So the purpose I am choosing now is to be a conduit for the wisdom that we all have access to. Because often people don’t know they have that access or they are so busy they forget. I can use the perspective I’ve gained to the best advantage this way.

 

These are all connected…

As with everything else in life, how we feel, how we make others feel, and what we do are all interconnected. If we feel good, others around us do. If we’re kind to all, it benefits us. If we use our wisdom effectively, it has a positive impact on us and those around us. Having this clarity brings me peace.

 

What about you?

Did this make you pause a minute and think about who you’re growing into? Maybe you’d enjoy hearing about other things I muse about. If so, sign up for my monthly newsletter here.