A number of years ago, when I first began studying aikido, I had a habit of falling incorrectly and, more often than not, hurting myself. I was very frustrated and though I thought I understood what the right way was, I could not get it right. One night at the end of class, the instructor noticed my disappointment, leaned over to me and said very quietly, “It’s difficult to be a beginner.” That phrase didn’t comfort me much at the time, but it has rung through my ears many times since. Often when I find myself having to do something I don’t know how to do or have never done before, I remember that gentle moment of truth. We build our lives on what we think we know, but all human knowledge is finite. And, as the Universe expands, new understanding will emerge to make us realize that in some way we were wrong. Only when we forgive ourselves for not knowing do we make space for creative possibility. This post is #4 in a series of 12 in which I describe the necessary stops on the journey of consciously creating your life… or anything new. Come along to make space for new discoveries.
Step 4: Let go of what you know.
The fourth step in the journey is to let go of what you know. Station four in the Wheel of Creativity is Launch. This is the place of jumping. From the familiar shore of the status quo, you set out into the unknown. Every person who’s ever discovered something new or invented a new solution has had to go to through the place of not knowing. Only when you’re willing to say, “I don’t know – “I don’t know what I need; I don’t know how to get out of this situation; I don’t know what will change things.” – only then can the light shine in. To get there doesn’t require that you do anything except simply be where you are and admit that what you know today is limited. “Beginners mind,” as the Buddhists call it, is humbling. But it’s liberating too. It makes space for new possibilities, and that brings you to… Step 5. Look for it here tomorrow.
Learn more.
For these 12 days, I’m sharing one step each day… 12 distinct steps on the road of creating your life, as outlined in my book, The Wheel Of Creativity: Taking Your Place in the Adventure Of Life. To be sure you don’t miss one of the steps, move your cursor up the sidebar on the right and type your email address into the box beneath “Don’t miss a post! Get blog alerts.” I’ll email them to you. At the end of the 12 days, on September 15th, I’ll also be offering a free half-hour Discovery Call in which you can learn more about the Wheel of Creativity and an in-depth course I’ll be offering this Autumn.