Happy New Year Becoming All Family!!
It’s been about 2 months since my last post. Of course, I didn’t forget about you but I really had to take some self-care time to heal and defrost after the accident. Anyways, while away I was working on some content for you guys (don’t tell my husband I said that, lol) so here we go.
In The Beginning – Thank You, Sean!
One of my mentors challenged a group of us some time ago to come up with a 3-word philosophy for our lives. We were sitting in his living room after Sunday lunch, practically drunk with food from the delicious buffet his wife had just fed us and the farthest thing from any of our minds was a 3-word philosophy but we obeyed.
I had never given a lot of thought to this concept before in terms of choosing specific words but his request challenged to really think it through at that moment. Let me just say that day significantly changed my life for the better, forever. Thank you S.Y, you’re amazing!
Facebook Is Good For Something…
Anyway, what prompted this post was a Facebook Memory that reminded me about the 3-word philosophy concept. Who else likes Facebook memories? Personally, I like Facebook Memories when they remind me of nuggets of wisdom I wrote years ago. Sometimes I read the post again thinking – how is this so applicable all these years later? Other times those memories are out of hand and I’m like – what in the world was I thinking to post this?! Can you identify? lol!
Hopefully what I’ll share here today will encourage you to write your bits and pieces down. Even if it’s not on Facebook, but in a journal or notebook somewhere so you can look back at those nuggets from time to time.
The Facebook Memory
This particular memory was originally 4 years ago. It was a post from my first blogging baby Butterfly Memoirs and it’s still hard to believe it’s been 4 years because it literally feels like yesterday.
Metamorphosis
So what does any of this have to do with a 3-word philosophy? Everything! If you know me, you know I love butterflies. But if this is your first time here, a warm welcome to you. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Shaquille and I love butterflies! 😄 If you say the word metamorphosis, you’ll get my instant attention. I’ve found something beautiful in the way an egg becomes a creature (caterpillar) that’s not the most appealing to the eye and over the course of time, transforms into something else that’s captivating (butterfly). I liken this process to my life and the lives of people I meet. Everyone is on a journey of discovering who they are. I believe the value I carry can positively influence someone else and I’ve seen this manifested over the course of my life.
The Value of Process
The Facebook Memory struck a significant cord because it reminded me of my process. I stopped blogging for a long time because my view of what I had to offer was skewed by all kinds of things – life really. Not being good enough, saturation, the whole 9 yards. That memory challenged me to reflect on where I’ve been, my current position and where I’m heading. It showed me that even though my dreams looked different at particular stages, the core of who I am remains intact. When I started Butterfly Memoirs, I didn’t have any fancy templates or themes. I used one of the free templates to get my site up and running primarily because my gut won’t let me sit on the idea for too long. Have you ever felt like that?
I knew I wanted to blog and share nuggets of wisdom and inspiration but I didn’t view what I had as enough. I get bouts of it hitting me again sometimes but my willpower is much stronger now. Through my eyes, I saw my gift/desire to blog as unappealing.
My gift, a deep and rugged desire to write real content and share inspiration online was seen as a creepy, crawly unappealing caterpillar. I had no idea where exactly to begin or what the site would become but I had a vision in mind: Equip, Encourage, Inspire. This is what I wanted Butterfly Memoirs to accomplish, and these three words my friends are my 3-word philosophy. I want that when you guys take time out your schedules to stop by here you take away something that encourages you to tackle a task you thought was too big to handle. My desire is that you are inspired by my truth-telling, matter-of-fact yet encouraging compilation of my life’s process.
From Caterpillar to Growing Wings
Fast forward 4 years later we now have Becoming All – (thanks for stopping by) The appearance of the blog has changed but the core of why Becoming All exists is the same vision that birthed Butterfly Memoirs. At this stage, the vision has some more flesh on its bones. I can see more clearly where this forum going. The impact it’ll have and how it’ll change lives for the better. Though the domain name and content has changed, the core values are the same – Equip, Encourage, Inspire.
Equip
As an Equipper, I aim to provide knowledge and insight in order to prepare someone else with the right tools they’d need to get their job done. That means I always have to be improving myself and my skill set. I have to be plugged into the right materials and consuming the right content. A teacher who has no lesson plan will soon find that their students are in a dance of chaos. Teaching is a passion of mine so being able to share nuggets of wisdom while writing (another passion) checks all the right boxes.
Encourage
We all need a hype man sometimes lol. I’m that friend that’s gassing you up and/or being a brick wall for you to lean on. Though leaning is good, please take note that it’s important to know how to encourage yourself too and set yourself apart so you don’t become a crutch in someone’s process or your own.
Encouraging another by lighting the path is great but that person also has to want to take the necessary steps to get where they want to go. For me, encouragement is not enablement. A good teacher will equip and teach you how to fish rather than enable you by catching your dinner and solely allowing you to feast. I’m so conscious of that as a mentor and friend.
Inspire to Action
Inspire is the last of the words in my 3-word philosophy. Inspiration without action to me isn’t the full picture. It’s okay to be inspired but I want to live a life that shows others that they can achieve their dreams too and they get moving towards accomplishing them.
Time to Get Moving
So I write to Equip, Encourage and Inspire. And who knows, maybe these 3 words will change at some other point of my life. But I said all that to say this, even though the face of your project may change. The core of your philosophy has to be rooted in a solid Why. I’m SO grateful for that reminder and for the initial question my mentor posed some time ago. The memory really sprung me into action and I’m more geared up toward fulfilling my dream fulltime.
Don’t give up on your dream just because it isn’t looking exactly how you envisioned by a particular time. Tweak anything if you must but keep going. Life unfolds in stages and seasons, take your time as you process yours.
My challenge to you is to think about 3 words that best describe your WHY. A good place to start is assessing your gifts and talent. It’s a new year but it’ll be the same you if your core values are solid.
Can’t wait to see the best come out of you!
Shaq Xo
pc: Arnel Hasanovic
