Is it cliché to say that the beginning of the year demands a new you?
There’s a collective agreement subscribed to by billions of people around the world who treat the start of a new year as THE time for new beginnings.
I lean toward the idea that the Spring Equinox is a more natural time for a grand reveal of reinvention.
But there’s something to be said about so many people aligning their thoughts and actions towards something at the same time.
It’s the kind of momentum that we can leverage and contribute to.
One thing I’ve learned about transformation in the last several years is that every step toward lasting change requires two things:
- A vision of the traits you want to develop. (Awareness x Intention x Action)
- A willingness to face and address the darker side of those traits. (Resistance)
It’s easy to get caught up in hot new drug called self-improvement. But true growth requires integrating the darker parts of yourself that inevitably come along for the ride.
This is why, I think, many people have a difficult time with the transformation process.
The Two Sides of Change
Every positive trait has a darker side.
- Confidence can become arrogance.
- Passion and advocacy can become anger.
- Discipline often becomes rigidity.
These are some examples of what could be considered shadows, named by Carl Jung. They show up because evolution inherently disrupts the status quo.
When you strive for something new, you unsettle the patterns, habits, and mindsets that have kept you safe.
It’s the price of growth.
But if you’re not aware of the shadows, they can sabotage your efforts, pulling you back into old cycles.
The key is awareness.
If you know the shadow side of what you’re developing, you can meet it and integrate it into your growth rather than letting it control you.
Shadows Reveal Hidden Potential
Shadows might seem negative but do this work long enough and you’ll realize they’re actually the doorways to deeper transformation. They show what keeps us stuck and offer us the chance to break free in our own ways.
You can even reverse engineer the growth process.
If you have some regularly occuring so-called negative traits, they can hold the seed of even greater natural potential.
- If you tend to be angry, you have a natural fire within you. Direct it purposefully and you’ll have access to passion in a way that most people don’t.
- If you tend to be judgemental, with a redirection of your focus, acceptance of the Truth paradox, and a higher perspective you’ll have access to farsighted leadership level integrity.
The key is to approach your shadows with curiosity instead of judgment.
Transformation Equation
Here’s an equation that might be helpful:
Transformation = (Awareness × Intention × Action) ÷ Resistance
- Awareness: Transformation begins with honesty. To actually seek to understand yourself, your patterns, your limitations, and your potential can be humbling but not such a big deal once you get the hang of it. The clearer your awareness, the greater your capacity for change.
- Question: What am I feeling, thinking, or avoiding right now?
- Intention: You need a clear purpose or ideal. Intention is the North Star that gives transformation direction and focus.
- Question: What am I trying to grow into or create?
- Action: It’s the small, consistent steps over time that turn potential into reality.
- Question: What can I do today, no matter how small, to move closer to my ideal?
- Resistance: This is the friction, the fear, doubt, procrastination, or the external challenges that slow transformation. It’s natural, but it takes persistence to navigate it.
- Question: What’s holding me back, and what can I do about that?
All of these steps need each other to work:
Intention and action without awareness = Acting aimlessly.
Awareness and action without intention = Lacking purpose.
Awareness and intention without action = Abstract concepts.
Dividing all of this by resistance acknowledges that when you’re on the path of transformation, friction is the foe always close by.
I like equations like these because they dechunk concepts into more manageable pieces.
Find where you’re deficient or if there’s an element of the equation that takes dominion over all of the others.
This is a game of balance. When the elements align, over time, transformation is inevitable.
Happy new year!
Jeff D.