Adapting to the next economy

The next economy will come as a major culture shock to those of us who have relied on full time jobs for our identities, confidence and sense of what to do next. Our past history will tell us we "should get a job" because that's how the world works and that's what is expected of us. Never mind that "what we should do" is a guilt trip that frames us as "bad people" if we don't comply. In that frame of mind, we cannot consider what we could do, would love to do or can keep on doing because it leads us to what we're called to do. We need to be in our right brain cognitive strategies to consider those enlivening possibilities. One way to get there is to play around with visual metaphors. So here's four to ease your adapting to the next economy.

1. How have you outgrown your past? When we're growing like crazy, we can no longer fit into the clothes we wore a few months prior. Likewise with our minds, competencies and compatibility, we become too big to play it small anymore. We become big minded so we can see much more than before: recognizing patterns and reading situations wisely. We become more competent with more experiences under our belts so we can do more heavy lifting and take on bigger challenges. We stand taller than before so we can see eye to eye with those of greater stature and command their respect more easily
2. How have you moved forward? When we're making tons of progress, there's no going backwards in our lives. We gone beyond our comfort zone of familiar routines to a less familiar place that offers us new mysteries to solve, unknowns to explore and potential discoveries to realize. We're not the same person because we've solved some problems, met some challenges and realized some accomplishments. We've been changed by making changes in our world. We've moved to higher ground where we keep our perspective with ease.
3. What have you built? When we've been working on projects, challenges and changes, we realized some accomplishments. These inform us in ways that revise who we think we are, what we presume we can get done and how we'll go about our next round of accomplishments. We have learned by doing to not only do things better next time, but to do different things that give us more meaning, deeper fulfillment and experiences of making a bigger difference. We've got our creations to show us who we've become and show others how to see us differently.
4. What growths are you cultivating? When we work with organic processes of growth and decay, we realize we cannot make things happen mechanistically. Everything has a life of its own to respect, serve and trust. Some situations will appear to be forming buds that will blossom or bear fruit in time. Other arrangements appear to be decaying, withering and disintegrating. Some situations will appear to need weeding, pruning or restricting while others need encouragement, support and attention. When we see which of the varieties of growth we value for our own reasons, we can look after its flourishing and then nurturing us in return.

With these metaphors in mind, you can now consider how to continue what you've been doing. How can you keep on outgrowing your past, moving forward, building something new and cultivating growths? What can these processes lead to, set-up or turn into a different possibility? What differences will this make in others' lives that will come back around to change who you think you are. How can these patterns enroll you in a role of being who you're meant to be?