Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.
- Saint Augustine
When you think you've really figured something out, isn't it so humbling to realize that you actually need to rethink your entire approach?
This theme has been coming up for me so much lately, which makes me wonder if it is coming up for you as well?
I like to think I'm an expert at the things I really throw myself into (thank you, competitive spirit!) Community planning, facilitation, and lately, yoga. Yet recently I've been really reflecting on what it means to put aside those feelings of expertise and think about the foundations of my practice, whether professional or personal.
Let me give you an example. I have been doing A LOT of yoga in the last few months as part of a goal this year to bring my body back into good health. I have been feeling pretty skillful in the last few weeks, really pushing myself into poses that looked good but didn't feel great (and maybe showing off just a little?) until a few days ago. A few days ago, my back was so sore I could hardly get out of bed, or lean over to brush my teeth. I pushed through the pain for a couple of days, and then realized what needed to happen: I needed to re-evaluate my foundation, approach my body with gentleness, and not leap into challenging things without feeling strong and prepared first.
So, for the last few days, I have gone into each class with that goal in mind: don't worry how deep the bend or how impressive the stretch - feel strong and rooted in the simple things, and be satisfied with where I'm at, until I'm strong enough to safely do the deep bends and impressive poses. This is very humbling!
Now, if you're not into yoga, maybe you're like "where is she going with this?" But bear with me - I think this is a really important lesson related to my work, as a community planner, and probably yours too. How often do we get comfortable with jumping right to the challenge in our work (in my case, maybe a community meeting or drafting an new plan from scratch) without really taking care that the foundation is strong? A great approach to work towards is "beginner's mind", the openness to new ideas and knowledge and not feeling like such an "expert" that you prevent yourself from growing.
For me, focussing on the foundations of my work means (in part) really trying to establish excellent communication practices at the start of any new projects, so that we're not running into communication breakdowns further down the line... And also refining my own knowledge and skills, through training, reading, and deep conversations with planners and facilitators I admire, and not just recycling ideas that worked in the past unless it truly is the best approach for the client. I'm sure, through deeper reflection on this idea, more will come but for now I'm just really excited to be thinking about my work through this lens, and sharing these thoughts with you!
I would love to hear what it means to you, to focus on the foundation of your work (or play.)
- J
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