I’m a design show junkie. Fashion design, furniture design, house design, garden design, food design, even Lego design. Who cares what it is? When I find a design show to watch, I get all tingly and excited.
Watching the creative process is exhilarating and inspiring. And some designs that come out of that process are astounding—imagination at work.
Creativity and imagination pull me in, but what fuels my addiction is that I love observing the growth or non-growth of the participants.
I want to know why some people move ahead and some people fall behind.
Yes, sometimes the lack of preparation or other factors affects the outcome, but one type of person never wins. Ever.
It’s the person stuck on their point of view. The person who doesn’t listen to and won’t take the advice given to them by the experts. It’s the person who defends their position.
Don’t we see this all the time within ourselves and others?
We resist listening to advice because it means we have to change. But if we don’t listen, we remain stuck. And as much as it may feel safe to be stuck, it’s not.
Who wants to discover they might be wrong? Seriously. No one at first. But then we learn that to thrive in life, we have to become willing to shift our point of view, which involves asking for help and listening to advice that life constantly offers. Sometimes through people.
Discovering how we don’t listen and why we resist change is not a luxury. It’s a necessity if we want to evolve along with an ever-changing planet and environment.
When we aren’t willing to change, it’s as if we are impaled on our point of view. We can wiggle around all we want, but nothing will change, and it hurts. We have to get off of that point and find another one that allows us to be free.
Freedom is our natural state. We have the ability to listen, shift, change our minds, move forward, live within grace, express our unique gifts, and allow others to express theirs.
This is not about expressing ego. It’s about expressing grace. The ego and a false sense of self keep the design show participants from listening and changing. Humility is required.
A famous designer was on set on one of these shows and asked the contestants if they had questions. Not one of them did. Not one. Think of what they could have learned, how they could have moved forward, cleared obstacles, received ideas.
Complaining and make excuses is another way people lose their way out of design shows and life. Both habits turn the attention away from possibilities and curiosity, which are the engines of creativity.
A point of view that is no longer relevant keeps us stuck. We can persist in our point of view until it becomes obsolete, or change—our choice.
Life is constantly leading and guiding us. All we have to do is to be willing to let go and try out the suggestions it gives us. And since life knows more than our human points of view, perhaps it would be wise to listen, take advice, and even ask for help when needed.
Let’s not be stuck. Instead, let’s be creative, curious, imaginative, kind, and willing to shift our perceptions to those that serve us and others. Let’s be listeners and then masters of our perceptions.
Imagine the outcome of that!
The one who is truly wise sees the consequences of his actions.—Babylonian Talmud
PS: Yes, if you have been reading my “stuff” for a while, you know my intent is to shift perceptions towards the infinite.
And I have a class coming up about getting unstuck from ourselves and choosing spiritually healthy habits. It’s over half full, so check it out if you want to join us. If not, because classes aren’t your thing or the timing isn’t right, perhaps you’d like the book it’s based on.
No matter what, please find a way to shift your point of view, and don’t forget, bring your state of mind into harmony with it because that’s where the fundamental shift takes place.
BECA LEWIS coaches, teaches, writes blogs and books, plays with art, and is addicted to reading. She lives in Ohio with her husband and has kids and grandkids scattered across the country.
