By: Carrie Boan- Staff Writer & Community Communications
“What is important in a dress is the woman who is wearing it.”– Yves Saint Laurent
In this beginning of 2023 with spring right around the corner (hey, I saw my first robin this morning so spring is here right?), I’m going to be completely transparent about thoughts that transformed my world in previous years, and as you read, consider how these thoughts may help you transform your world now and in the future. Spring is a time for renewal, rebirth, and replenishing for the year, and our minds are here for it! Our worlds cannot change without action from us, and trust on our part that we are making permanent change to better our lives.
Years ago, I began studying, listening to, and reading works of the now late Dr. Wayne Dyer. His works and research profoundly changed my outlook because I look at things with an open mind and growth mindset now. As recommended by the late Dyer, I began reading “Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life” which is a study of the Tao Te Ching, an ancient book of wisdom. Reading this has transformed the way I look at life because until then I viewed the world through one perspective, and as a result my views and growth were limited. Do you view our world through various perspectives? As an emotional intelligence coach, I don’t ask people to change their core values, I ask people to view the world through various perspectives to understand how diverse our world and minds truly are. How can we open our minds to view things differently this year?
As I began reading “Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life”, I combined lessons from the late Dr. Dyer and my current brain training. Soon journaling gratitude every morning and/or night became a staple of my brain and mental health. Digging in a pile of journals at Marshalls one day, I found the book featured in the photo. “Change your thoughts & you’ll change the world” the cover read. The universe delivered the perfect journal cover for my renewal of my mind through gratitude and personal growth. What journal are you using to write thoughts and goals this year? If you don’t have one, I challenge you to find the perfect one and begin this spring.
Continuing in my “Change Your Thoughts” reading, Chapter 11 focuses on looking at the void as the most purposeful part of something. How different to focus on what is missing, right? We tend to focus on WHAT IS, not WHAT IS NOT. Think about this perspective for a bit. Let it stir in your mind. In the physical world, the most useful part of anything is typically the vast emptiness of it. What fills the vast emptiness is what creates energy and puts life into nothingness!
Take a minute and think about this altered way of looking at the void:
- an empty house – life is the family that fills it
- an empty vase – life is the flowers and water that fill it
- a dress on a hanger – life is the woman who wears it
- a body of skin, muscle, bones – life is the soul who embodies it
What a powerful shift to look at emptiness and have the ability to fill it with life. Beginning with your small daily habits, you can use every minute to impact your world as well as ours. Do not leave your vase empty with lost time at the end of the day. I know Netflix is tempting, I do. It’s fascinating to hear of others’ lives, documentaries, and fiction to help us escape. However, do not allow these time-fillers to become your time-wasters. Reflect on your vase daily to be sure only life-giving water and beauty is filling your empty vessel.
This spring of 2023 is a vast emptiness of blank hours, days, weeks, and months. 2023 will take on the life that YOU give it! What will you fill those hours and days with? How will you transform your voids into meaningful hours, days, and months? Will you sit idly and watch TV filling your brain with nothingness or will you read a powerful book to implement positive new habits in your life? Will you spend extra hours at work to buy that ridiculous item you think you need or will you leave on time to stop by and see your family who loves you instead?
For this spring, let’s view what is not, what is emptiness, what is missing as potential. Every single day is an empty vase to be filled with your time and actions at the end of the day. View this year as an empty vase we add water daily then add a flower here and there until the vase is filled with a beautiful bouquet at the end of 2023. Can you visualize what this empty vase looks like? Can you visualize the potential of your beautiful bouquet at the end of the year?
“Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.” – Robin Sharma
Look at the emptiness of 2023 right now, and decide how you will fill it. Decide how you can transform into life, love, and success. Use this spring as your own renewal, rebirth, and replenishing. Share it with us at Focus on Fabulous! Attend the social, share, and let’s see our beautiful bouquets at the end of the year! Your life is a planted bulb sprouting this spring. Decide how you will change your thoughts to change your world!
As an EI Expert, Certified Brain Health, and Certified Life Coach, I am a consultant to healthcare and educational leaders, law enforcement – the helpers of our world. Through my unique yet simple Emotional Intelligence strategies, leaders and staff learn to direct their thoughts, words, and actions for effective communication, improved situational outcomes, employee/client retention, and burnout prevention. Email: carrie@thebraindiva.com