Be Magnificent

Storytelling is a powerful way to communicate and transmit our messages.

Stories are what we remember and relate to. As a leadership and communication coach who likes sharing knowledge, I wanted to learn more about what makes a story work as a tool to transmit a message.

For the past few weeks I have had the privilege to learn from one of my mentors, inspirational speaker and author Maria Sirois.

I learned more about the power of storytelling and I was also reminded about positive psychology, a concept that I am passionate about.

Permission to be human
AND
Permission to be magnificent

Individually they are powerful, together they are change makers. 

Permission to be human: 

• Accepting that as human beings we are imperfect. We embrace our strengths together with our imperfections and we permit ourselves to create from that place of imperfection.

• Accepting that we have a range of emotions spanning from happiness, joy and contentment to frustration, sadness and anger. We do not have to act on all of these emotions but we do need to accept them and the information that they provide us.

• Trying new things even when the outcome and perhaps even the path to get there is unknown.

Permission to be magnificent: 

• Believing in ourselves and understanding our strengths as well as our instincts.

• Permitting ourselves to shine and to use our voices. When we shine we allow others to do the same.

• Believing that we are capable of more than we think and that we have the power to influence our lives and the lives of others.

“AND”

This is the key word. It allows for new possibilities and it creates freedom.

I can be:

Imperfect AND magnificent at the same time

This is such a simple and powerful message.

What would you do if you could accept your imperfections and still believe that you could conquer what you wanted?

What if you could expand on this notion of who you can be? Lao Tzu said

“When I let go of who I am I become what I might be.” 

What if you could let go in this way? Allow yourself to believe that you are not stuck in who you think you are. If we permit ourselves to learn and grow and believe from a place of acceptance, we can become something even more powerfully imperfect.

When I reflect on my own career evolution over the past eight years, there are a number of things that I couldn’t have envisioned then that I have now achieved.

I am slowly permitting myself to dream even bigger.

I have yet to figure out how to make my new dream a reality and I am sure there will continue to be barriers along the way, but allowing myself to think about a magnificent and imperfect new dream feels powerful.

Imagine if you could do the same for someone else.  

You have the power to let go of what you think about someone and permit them to become who they might be. It is a simple idea that opens endless possibilities for us and for others.

I invite you to hold still with your thoughts as you read these words. Breathe in your imperfect and magnificent self. Breathe in wherever you are. Believe that you might not yet know who you could become.

From where I sit in my imperfectly magnificent garden  I wish you a wonderful summer month.

With gratitude,

Claudia