Inquisitive Report 28/52

Week Ending August 10th, 2018

Content Covered: TGIF

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I just finished another book by Brene Brown, this one is called The Gifts of Imperfection.

In the book she talks about this concept of wholehearted living; one of my favorite takeaways from her book was this concept of TGIF.

T: What am I trusting?

G: What am I grateful for?

I: What inspires me?

F: How am I practicing my faith?

Before I tell you my TGIF, I wanted to elaborate some of the concepts involved in this little exercise.

Trust: in her book, Brene talks about intuition as a source of information. Intuition is not a single way of knowing – it is our ability to hold space for uncertainty and our willingness to trust the many ways we’ve developed knowledge and insight, including instinct, experience, faith and reason.* Creating the space for stillness is the first step in listening to our voice of intuition; and yet often times in the myriad of demands coming our way – calm is the last thing on our minds.

Grateful: gratitude has become a popularized concept, and yet the distinction that fails to be made is that gratitude is an action that needs to be practiced not just in relationship to others, but with ourselves. As a species, we are starving from a lack of gratitude; and yet addressing scarcity doesn‘t mean searching for abundance, rather it means choosing a mind–set of sufficiency. Sufficiency isn‘t defined as an amount, it is an experience, a context we generate, a knowing that there is enough, that we are enough.* In this regard, gratitude becomes a perspective through which to look at ourselves and our lives.

Inspire: taking a look inward as to what moves you, and gives your life meaning is the most authentic way to align your daily doings to a vision. All authors talk about this concept in one form or another, because inspiration provides direction. Whether you choose to lean into what inspires you – and make a life from there, or pursue your inspiration as a hobby, do more of what makes you come alive – because that is what the world needs.

Faith: faith has always been a place of mystery; perhaps the hardest concept of all to grasp from a logical standpoint. But Brene presented a definition of faith that resonates with me, she writes that: faith is where we find the courage to believe in what we cannot see and the strength to let go of our fear of uncertainty.* Practicing faith therefore is a form of negating self-doubt;  and cultivating faith is a process that requires, hope – as a mindset, when thinking about all that has yet to come… Now that I can do.

With those thoughts in mind, today:

I am trusting in the process of presences. By following the simple rules of what I know, what I don’t know, what I can control, what I can’t – and what I can do today to bring me closer to my goals — I am able to cultivate peace and trust in the space that I am creating.

I am grateful for the support of my friends and family as I start this new journey; and I am proud of myself for having the courage and strength to start this new chapter in my life – quite a bit outside my comfort zone, and yet for all the right reasons.

I am inspired by all that is yet to be learned and experienced. Because what a beautiful thought it is to realize that some of the most memorable moments of our lives have yet to come?

I am practicing my faith by believing that what is meant to be will find its way.

Whats your TGIF?

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*Thoughts adapted from the Book