Memories sometimes seem like a dream.
Did they ever really happen?
How much of the details are accurate?
Who determines that accuracy? And does it matter if they are accurate?
What about the memories that never were? If I never remembered a memory in the first place, did it matter that it happened at all?
What we remember of our memories tells us as much as what we forget about them.
The word “heroine” is the female gendered version of the word “hero.”
Anytime there is a word that comes from a male version, it’s an opportunity to pause. In choosing the word heroine, whose story are we really in?
The hero saves the day, and many times, he saves a damsel in distress.
Using the word heroine, who are we saving? I oftentimes see the word heroine as the word for a woman who takes back her own sovereignty and saves herself. But the word still centers a male perspective while there is no male protagonist.
Let’s choose a different word – changemaker, culture maker, visionary, badass, activist, artist, revolutionist. What’s your pick?
Creativity requires a spark to ignite a thought, an idea.
A spark cannot be made without heat, friction.
Creativity also requires time and effort.
It requires permission.
It requires intention.
It requires releasing expectations.
It requires release, in general, to be fully expressed.
What is halting your creativity? What do you need? Or more likely, what do you need to let go of?
We don’t find ourselves by standing still. By stopping all activity until we finally know who we are. By hiding in a cave until future she shows herself to us.
We find ourselves by doing.
Doing the things we feel called to do.
Then making mistakes and saying “Hey, that’s not quite for me.”
We find ourselves by creating.
Creating things we are proud of.
Things that work and things that don’t work.
We find ourselves by feeling into our bodies as we do all of these things. Maybe it feels good to fail. Maybe it feels good to wake up before dawn.
No one knows but you. And you won’t know until you stop hiding.
If you’ve ever embarked on a quest to answer “Who am I?,” you have probably found many a dead-end.
We naturally try to answer with words that describe what we do.
But we are more than mom, teacher, entrepreneur, artist, lover, partner, activist, learner, writer, etc. And even if we were not limited by 140 characters or 10 second attention spans, there would not be enough room to fit it all in.
How about a different approach? How about asking – “What is my brand?”
A brand feeds all of our senses – sight, sound, taste, touch and smell which ultimately evokes experiences and emotions. How do you want people to feel when you interact with them?
A brand is about “how we do” and not about “what we do.”
That’s who you are.