A few years back, I got my first (and only – because it really hurt!) tattoo:
The phrase “be the change” on my wrist. At that point, I had been going to therapy for a few years and that phrase had become a mantra in my life.
I had a million lightbulb “aha” moments in therapy.
But one of the most life-changing ones was this idea that no matter what happened in my past, no matter what parts made up my story, no matter how my brain was wired, I could choose the way that I wanted to show up in the world. I could, in essence, be the change.
Gandhi’s quote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world” may feel like a platitude. Having it tattooed on your wrist a little cliché. But it serves as a reminder of the internal power I have access to. I wanted a permanent reminder that, at any given moment, I get to choose what I do next. How I am thinking, what I say out loud, the story I tell myself about a situation. I am in charge.
How are you showing up in the world? Does it match with the way you want to show up in the world? Are you choosing what you want to do next?
