One thing I know for certain: we are all bozos on the bus.
CEO. Stay at home parent. Young hot-shot. Celebrity. Bozos, all.
Regardless of education, socioeconomic status, the cost of the shoes we wear or where we vacation (if we vacation) here is a spoiler alert: we all have stuff: Emotional stuff. Stuff that lingers deep inside of us. Stuff that keeps us trapped in patterns that harm us and others.
Stuff we lug around, unconscious of how heavy it is because we simply get used to the weight.
The other evening, I was sitting around a fire with a friend. We had just taken a walk, caught up on the things in our hearts, and she said this very simple yet profound statement, “I lean into being human. Whatever it is, bring it. What I feel. What I choose. This is how I grow. For so many years, I denied myself the privilege of being human. I was focused on being good and successful, looking for the next thing to prove myself.”
As many of my people and readers know, I recently returned from a 30-day treatment program which helped me relish in just how dang human I truly am. And here’s one thing I walked away with: I am hands-down, incredibly and radically human and flawed, scared and brave.
What I want everyone to know is this; we all are. Radically human. Beautifully flawed. Scared and brave. Needing forgiveness and wonderfully worthy.
What keeps us stuck are our fears and the intricate pattern they weave. What invites transformation is being honest about our fears.
The global consultancy, McKinsey, even discusses how the “identity mindtrap” trips up executives who don’t want to change and think personal growth is a waste of time (view McKinsey article). The more we doubledown on “this is the way I am”, the less we thrive emotionally, professionally, relationally, and spiritually.
When we go wide-eyed into the cave where our pasts and hurts reside, something amazing happens. We see what we need to see about ourselves. The further in we venture, the more treasure we find as we confront the very things that separate us from who we truly are. We can learn to stop protecting our carefully curated personas and start connecting to our authentic selves.
Open up to your story because, even during the dark nights of the soul, there is a richness to what we are going through. We get forged by our experiences. This, in no way, means we paint our struggles with a toxic-positivity sheen. It does mean the more we take off our blinders and look at what we must look at, the more we are able to see more clearly.
We all have the capacity to be phoenixes rising from the ashes and we all have ashes. So, will you have the courage to dare to go deep – as much as it burns – so you can rise?