I hate it when I wake up with a thought in the middle of the night or before my alarm goes off. That means that I wont be getting my last few hours of sleep. That very thing happened to me this morning. My internal alarm went off at 3:55. I decided to make the early rise worth my time so I began to write this very post.
I have been wrestling with explaining the four components of GoneGirlGo. I want make sure that I define them in my own mind, capture them in writing, and put them out there to get your feedback. So far so good, at least I think. Two components of the four have been spelled out so far:
- Refuse to live by default
- Push against self imposed limits
As much as I have tried to attach meaning to these concepts, my hope is that you do the same thing. When a movement emerges, people have to get it. They have to buy into it. They have to make meaning of it for themselves. If they don’t, the movement can fizzle out with as much determination as it emerges. Now this is my theory, of course. I don’t have any research to back it up. It’s just when I think about the epic movements of the world, I can’t help but to imagine that their momentum & energy had something to do with the folks involved defining what the movement was about on a group as well as an individual level. I guess that’s the power of meaning making.
Side bar: I am familiar with term meaning making because of my educational background in diversity management. I remembered that being an important concept in diversity. I just couldn’t remember what it exactly meant and I certainly didn’t feel like pulling out that big old binder of diversity articles that I have. So I googled it and found this definition: the process of meaning-making in which individuals construct mental models that ground their understanding in a deeply personal and unique fashion. That’s what I thought it meant…See I know that I just don’t make stuff up! By the way, here’s a plug for Cleveland State University’s Diversity Management Program. If you are interested in pursuing an advance degree, consider this program in organizational leadership. It has helped to shape my career, experiences, and overall life. Check it out here: Cleveland State University Diversity Management Program
Anyway, this brings me to the third component of GoneGirlGo which is define your own forward movement. The act of pushing forward requires that you make meaning of the process for yourself. The mental models I have in my head about pushing forward may not be applicable, important, or even reasonable to you. And I certainly don’t want to impose my thoughts about what your forward movement should look like.
Developing GoneGirlGo, for example, is one of my forward movements. I have made up in my mind that I am going to do this thing. (And let me tell you, as much as this process has to do with self-determination for me, it also has a very spiritual element to it. I am doing this because I am supposed to. That’s another post, I think.) Also on my list of forward movement is learning how to speak Spanish, executing my ideas, eating a more plant based diet, and budgeting my money. The term forward movement is like high level goal setting. I don’t think that it should be bogged down with the details of developing goals. You know, how you go through the process of developing SMART goals? Now if you decide to take that route with your forward movement, then that’s your own choice. For me though, it’s really about just making my mind up that I am going to do something about my situation, my life. It’s about making a commitment to push those self imposed barriers that have been holding me back for years, out of my way. It’s declaring to myself that I will push forward and go!
So, think about defining your own forward movement today. Then GoneGirlGo
Peace
