I’d like to tell you a story.
Once upon a time, there was a young girl who lived in the woods. Well, ok, she was in her 30’s at this point.
Anyway, she lived in the cool and rainy north. She was not happy, and she knew that something had to change.
One day, she decided to pack up her stuff, get in the car with her dog, Rufus, and drive. She left behind her job, her apartment, and the people she knew. She drove so far that she got almost as far south as she could go. So far, in fact, that it was sunny and warm.
She checked herself into a motel, and went about the business of creating her new life. Each step a small change. She eventually found a place for her and Rufus to live. She started a business. She met a guy.
Six years later, she had her own house. She worked at home in a business she’s passionate about. And she had married the guy.
It wasn’t always an easy path to those things, but it was the right one.
Funny, when she looks back on it now, she realizes that the ‘something’ that she knew had to change was… her. And she did.
In the process of changing, our heroine transformed her life.
We transform our lives in smaller steps far more than we do with grand gestures and dramatic changes. It is the daily repetition of acts, words, and ideas that bring you to be the person you are today.
Transformation is an ongoing evolution. It’s an ongoing process of becoming more and more yourself.
What happens for most of us is that we start our young lives with clarity about what we want. What we want is pretty simple at that point: food, drink, a toy. It’s life lived from the inside out.
As life becomes more complex, we start to see the advantages of adjusting what we want based on what others want. For some children, it’s a survival tactic. Keeping our caretakers happy and willing to care for us is essential.
When we move into adulthood, that tactic is translated into our work. We continue to adjust our wants and needs based on what’s happening outside of ourselves.
The problem is, you lose touch with what’s inside, with you.
Transformation comes when we shift our focus from the outside back to the inside.
The outside has roles and job description boxes that we fit into. The inside has clarity and wisdom about the essence of who we are and what we can bring, the impact we can have.
Transformation isn’t a straight path or a big leap. It’s a path of many small steps, each one chosen from the clarity and wisdom we have inside.
One thing that our heroine learned, and that I have also come to learn through my own transformations (yup, there have been multiple, and there will be more!) is that transformation requires vulnerability. Vulnerability within ourselves, and with others.
Really great work doesn’t come from a place of protection. We need to be vulnerable to do really great work.
Given all this vulnerability and potential for significant changes, why would anyone want to go through this, to transform?
The one, and only, reason for going through the process of transformation is to become You.
OK, I know, you’re already you. But I’m talking about You. The Big You. The You that does impactful, great work.
Each of us has the potential to do that.
Small changes. Big transformation.
If what you read in this article is valuable, click here to talk with Ursula about coaching.
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Here’s your Alchemy Assignment, your chance to transform what you learned in this article into awareness and action for you and your business:
What small change can you make right away in your work that keeps coming up for you, from an inner voice? How can you be more vulnerable, in service of doing great work? Consider a small way you can be more vulnerable in your work, that serves doing work that’s impactful. Small steps, big effects!