Shiny Nickels
“I am never gonna think my way into being a shiny new nickel. I have to go out and do something about it.” –Anonymous
New ways of thinking and paradigm shifts are hardly ever birthed out of our new thinking alone. Self-reflection is powerful, but it is rarely enough.
Real change is experiential, and it starts with discomfort.
Like a few grains of sand in our shoe. Something doesn’t quite work the way it used to. It doesn’t feel right.
Maybe we’ve changed. Maybe the situation has changed. Maybe we’ve gotten new information. Maybe…all of the above. Whatever the reason, what once was okay is no longer.
Our period of discontent may last moments or a lifetime. The impetus to change, even the decision to take action, can exist in perpetuity without the pursuant action. It seems there is always resistance to change even while being dissatisfied with the status quo.
Everyone’s values, beliefs, and tolerance for dissonance are different.
But to bring our heads and hearts back into harmony, to experience peace in place of dissonance, we must make changes. Being intentional about your values is to have character. Living your values and beliefs is to act with integrity.
As with other tigers and tails, changes don’t always manifest as expected. We like to believe that we get to choose how the story will end. We think, I’ve got this one little issue that I’d like to get sorted out and then everything will be jake. Right?
Like tugging an errant bit of yarn on a sweater, before you know it, an entire mindset can start to unravel. Our human lives are a delicate balance. Sometimes comprised of micro delusions that support macro realities. And vice versa.
When you gather the courage to clean house, remember you don’t always get to pick which rooms will get straightened in the process.
It can be daunting.
So what.
Isn’t being shiny and new and truer to you worth it?
