24/07/2023
🌊 The Secret to Lasting Change🌊
I'm in the process of developing a new course, The Water Way, about the wisdom of the Water Element in the Creative Cycle, and how, like Water and electric current, humans too, follow the path of least resistance.
❓ What determines your path of least resistance?
The structures that support you, that you are a part of. Think of these as the river beds that shape and direct where and how fast we go.
❓ Why do the underlying structures and networks matter?
Well, perhaps you want to become more innovative, more physically fit, or more determined and motivated. You might have made some initial steps in the direction, but struggle to be consistent and experience lasting change.
Why? Because the network forces, your underlying structures, communities that you are a part of have been keeping you in place. And the networks, the communities we are a part of are one of the biggest forces that influence who we are and who we become.
➡️If you want to feel motivated, but lack the company of driven people, there's going to be a lot of inertia.
➡️If you want to be active and physically fit, but your friends are couch potatoes, it's going to be hard.
➡️If you'd like to become inspiring and inspired, but lack sources of inspiration, it's tough.
Reflecting on my own journey, it was around 2016 that it hit me that the city I was born and grew up in, and most of the structures I was a part of didn't resonate with my values, or the path and direction I wanted to go.
The things I valued - freedom, inspiration, creativity and leaving positive change in the world were lacking in my social circles, which were full of people mostly preoccupied with accumulating wealth, increasing social status, and conforming to social norms. Quite sadly, the most inspiring and creative person I knew then might have been myself - and trust me, I wasn't creative or inspiring then, not at all.
That's when I knew, I had to make a change, to change my underlying structures to shape my own path of least resistance.
In the words of five time founder and angel investor James Currier,
💬 'The smartest use of energy for those of us looking to make a change can often be to carefully reassess the networks we’re a part of, and find ways to join new ones that are better suited to the life path we want to be on.'
Currier says that 90% of those network forces that shape our path of least resistance are established in just 7 crossroads or pivotal life events -
1. the family you're born into,
2. your high school network
3. your college network
4. your first job
5. marriage / your life partner
6. the city you live in.
Maybe for you, like me, most if not all of these decisions have already been made. The riverbeds of your path of least resistance has already been cast in stone, and it seems like it is already too late.
But there is the seventh and the last one, which he calls
7. 'reassessments'.
The network gravity has been building up since your birth and gets stronger over time. Each network adding and integrating with the others, until as Currier says, your path is "near destiny". But you can decide to ignore that network math and forcibly make a change.
The most lasting and effective way to change your life is to change who you’re surrounded by.
And this is exactly the course of action I took.
8 years on since taking that leap of faith I can proudly say that my path of least resistance has changed significantly from how it was, and is now in alignment with the direction I'd like to be heading, thanks to the networks of changemakers, creatives, independent thinkers and inspiring folks I've sought out and chosen to surround myself with.
This Sunday we launch the Changemakers & Creatives Inner Circle, a place and space where you'll feel inspired, connected and motivated. This is the circle I wish existed at the beginning of my journey to changing my path of least resistance.
If you are looking to make lasting change and want the support of community, join us.
We will move mindfully, reflect and draw inspiration for the coming month and be seen and heard by other like-minded changemakers and creatives.
Want to join us? Comment below and I'll send you the info.
Our networks are our most valuable resource.
They are the way our lives express themselves.
❓ How have your networks shaped your path of least resistance?
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