Mar 2, 2018
Over the years, I’ve learned to pay attention when I see themes pop up in my life. And lately, I’ve noticed a theme in several conversations I’ve had. There seems to be a readiness to be “there” right now.
NOTE: It might be a bit meta, but it's worth mentioning that the audio on this week's episode is a bit off. So, I made the call to post this since I really believe in the content I share, but please have a bit of grace... because apparently, we're not all there yet. ;)
Not being "THERE yet? What do I mean by that?
Sometimes it’s the weariness of the struggle, sometimes it’s been conversations about when will these things take off.
Whatever the specifics of the conversation have been, the theme stood out to be bright as day.
Earlier this year, I hosted an event (I’ve been doing that more and more… so, more on that shortly!) with an incredibly smart brand and marketing strategist, Chandra Lynn. Shoutout!
She led the audience in an exercise around developing a personal brand you love. It was amazing. And she used this analogy to create a space of imperfection and growth. She called it “being in the goo.”
What she meant by that is when a caterpillar’s time has come to transform into this incredible butterfly, it creates it’s own cocoon and it’s in that place where the transformation happens.
She calls it “goo” because it’s the middle, the changing, the lack of firm ground, the in between. The form doesn’t yet exist. It’s the goo.
Great picture, right?
It’s not easy to be in the goo. Especially when you know you’re capable of greatness. It can feel like time wasted, and even helpless.
There’s not really a horizon to keep your eyes on, right?
To honor those who I’ve spoken with lately, your wings are in there with you. They’re forming and growing and strengthening.
And while you may be focusing on all the work and even the exhaustion that can come from transformation, I want to remind you of something simple and true: You have greatness written all over you and this time in the goo is not wasted.
Remember, even though success may not come with a straight path, think of the butterfly! It’s starts as an egg, then to caterpillar, then to cocoon, then to flight. Not a straight line.
A few years ago, I heard a gentleman speak about the butterfly’s metamorphosis process. He and his daughter were outside when the daughter spotted a cocoon that had a butterfly trying to emerge She asked him “Dad, can we help it out of there?”
Then the dad said, “No! This is actually where the butterfly’s wings gain their strength. If we helped it now, it wouldn’t be able to fly. So, because we want it to fly, let’s let it do it’s thing.”
When the butterfly’s wings start to take form but they don’t yet have the freedom or strength to take it anywhere.
And here’s the interesting thing. I think this metamorphosis takes place on the big and small levels. It may be a re-birth of your career, or it may be an unleveling in a specific area of your life.
Here’s an example in my own life - it's this show! When I made the decision to move from FB live to a pre-recorded show (want to learn more about this decision? Hop on over to Episode 28) to be more strategic with my time.
But it’s taken SO MUCH MORE TIME! Even though it's just been the actual implementation mechanism that changed, my time spent on each episode has skyrocketed. It's not what I hoped for or planned for.
However, it was a great reminder to me that every time we uplevel our own game, we step (maybe with just one foot) back into the goo.
Consider this: a caterpillar sheds it’s exoskeleton about 5 times as it grows... all before it envelops itself in the cocoon! So, that's about 5 transformations AS a caterpillar.
So, if in the big picture you feel like you’re not quite flying yet, don’t worry. You’re moving closer and closer to that moment. And when you get there, you’ll be ready for it.
This is the work. This is the transformation. So if you feel like your wings can’t quite expand like you know they could, you know you’re in the goo and this work is bringing you to flight.
Your greatness is forming and strengthening.
XOXO,
Ginny