Become what you already are.
A bishop used this phrase on the radio this week, and it has stayed with me.
We are more than half way through the year now, and the summer season, whatever that means to you, is here.
For me, that means less time writing and shorter musings.
The year is progressing, and the summer season can also be a time that brings perhaps a little more space for reflection.
When you think back to the start of the year, what were your hopes for the summer?
What has happened since then, and how is that changing and shaping you?
And as we enjoy this summer season, and think of the rest of the year, it strikes me that this is a noble end to reflect on:
What does it mean to become what you already are?
Who do I know myself to be at my best?
What is most important to me, and do my priorities and time use reflect that?
Who is most important to me, and how am I showing up to them?
Am I living now in a way that minimises potential regrets I might have in the future? More on that here.
I had an interesting conversation with a client recently about making values-based decisions. She was thinking through her internal scripts that told her that serving others was the most important thing regardless of how that fits who she is.
We identified that the contrary is actually true – when we understand what is most important to us, what our skills and gifting is, and how we best use those skills, we generally bring the best of ourselves to whatever we are doing.
So a question to ask yourself this week:
Who do you know yourself to be?
What are the characteristics of you at your best?
And what would it look like to agree to choose to live as that person, day in day out, throughout this coming year, to become – and celebrate being – who you already are?
This idea of asking what my priorities actually reflect hit harder than I expected. I run a small business alone and it’s easy to spend a whole season reacting to whatever is loudest instead of checking if my time matches what I say matters. The bishop’s phrase is a good one to sit with past the summer too.
Hello Aneeq – thank you for your thoughtful comments, and I am glad that you are enjoying what I write. The key word you use id ‘reacting’…taking time to stop and ask proactive questions allows us to have more agency over our lives and business and be more proactive: why am I doing what I am doing? What is most important here? What is distracting me from the vision I have for my business? These are hard but important questions to ask ourselves. I empathise with you with the challenges of running a business alone…you are doing a great job, keep noticing, stay curious, and keep focused on WHO you are and what is most important to you. Very many blessings