One Time…
My oldest son has been listening to The Little House books on audio and has recently started sharing recitations with us. It’s a new activity on car rides to tell us stories. At first, it sounded as if he had downloaded the stories and were repeating them back verbatim, but soon he started adding his own creative liberties. It’s hilarious to hear his 21st-century reality getting mixed into the stories. For instance, in one story Laura and Mary received a car for a gift and another time a refrigerator was referenced. His stories classically begin with “One time…” So I’ll take a tip from my 5-year-old and begin with -
One time,
There was a woman who lived in a shoe,
She had so many children she didn’t know what to do.
She gave them some broth without any bread,
Then whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed.
If I lived in a shoe I would be pretty discouraged as well. But sometimes our lives feel just as chaotic as if we did live in a shoe. Even with modern conveniences that supposedly make our lives easier, we find our days disappearing and never being able to get enough done. Sometimes we can be just like the woman in this poem and our life feels out of control. She didn’t know what to do, so the worst side of her came out. But look at how interesting this is. The newer versions of this nursery rhyme go as follows:
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,
She had so many children she didn’t know what to do;
She gave them some broth with plenty of bread,
She kissed them all fondly and sent them to bed.
A few words change and it's a completely different story. Suddenly she’s not the old ogre living in chaos, she is a sweet, kindly, generous woman who DOES know what to do.
This is what taking ownership looks like. It goes from obligation (“I have to”) to privilege (“I get to.”) You just change a few words and it radically changes your story. An “I have to” mindset creates a lot of chaos in our life, while an “I get to” mindset opens your mind to new possibilities.
When you are ready to take ownership over the areas of life that are chaotic and discouraging, I’m here to help you. One on one coaching paired with The Art of Being a Woman Master Class is a recipe for success for overcoming discouragement and uncertainty. It is an incredible gift that I invite you to give yourself this year. You can start by taking this Wholeness Quiz: https://bit.ly/TWSWholenessQuiz2
Then reach out to me!