A Short Story About SELF-Leadership
Have you ever seen planet Saturn through a telescope? A wandering yellowish sphere surrounded by large icy rings, orbiting carelessly around the same sun we call ours.
In Roman mythology, Saturn was the God of Agriculture, land works and harvesting crops. He corresponds to titan Cronos in Greek mythology, whose name comes from kreno, meaning “to practice balance”, “to govern”, “to rule”.
Seeing the giant Saturn through the small lens of the telescope, I had this overwhelming sense of self-awareness in the world. We, human beings, are such fragile and brave creatures! Constantly surrendering the ever-moving Universe out there while trying to lead our own changing Universe over here – thoughts, behaviours, skills, values, beliefs, decisions, purpose.
This mere chance to be on Earth is our starting point towards diving into the outer space! Being here, we imagine what could be out there. And knowing the laws of physics here helps us make sense of the movement out there!
The more you find your SELF and your interests in the changes that happen outside, the more you lead by choice from the inside.
Leading our SELF starts with being SELF-aware
Aware of our deepest personal needs and purpose. The changing dynamic of our relationships, desires, challenges and goals. The functioning laws of the symbiotic elements in our environment where we live, create, add value, connect, grow and make a difference. Aware of our thoughts, feelings and actions that fuel our minds, hearts and bodies to move forward.
“Change is the only constant in the Universe.”
Heraclitus
Saturn is and isn’t the same icy ring planet while travelling through space. Just like we keep changing and turning on this learning path we call life.
Everything is in a flow of change, nothing stays the same forever.
So, how do we support our SELF in this journey of constant transformation?
Learn By Choice, Grow Through Change
There are many words to express deliberate transformation or change by choice. One of them is very well seized by the syntagm schimbă foaia, a Romanian phrase literally translated as turn the page. Fully aware of the present, you make a bold move by actively changing your mind, behaviour and attitude to act anew or respond differently within a certain context. Hence the name of our professional coaching program here: Turn the Page or #SchimbăFoaia®.
I like this turn the page metaphor, not only as I have a special relationships with books and writing on paper. But because the word “page” in itself can lead to a multitude of meanings around the idea of change:
Be on the Same Page (or Not), Take a Page of Someone’s Book, Turn the Page, Look Into A Different Page, Start a New Page, A Torn Page, Lifestyle Page, Facing/ Opposite Page, White Page Block Syndrome.
As technology developed, so has our own representation about page turning. Think about the insightful expressions that we use so often! It’s almost impossible to imagine a time without web pages, when words like these were meaningless: Homepage, Scroll Down, User-Friendly Page, Switch Pages, Page Broken, Page View or Page Not Found.
The moment I noticed Saturn up in the night sky I realised we turn pages every day. Just like this giant planet moves around and around, in a very precise number of spins we see as chance. Some pages we turn are random. Others unimportant. Others hurt. Others bring joy. Others raise doubts or regret. Others look like our only ticket out. And others make us better writers. Though it may seem silent, turning the page is a loud inner process.
Page turning is similar to growing up like a tree: choose the soil, plant the seed, incubate, water the soil, wait for the right moment to peak, defy challenging weather, stay still, feed on the sun and finally arise at your own pace, part of a wider whole. Deliberately, on your own and completely against gravity!
#SchimbăFoaia®/ Turn the Page
🛋️ First session is always FREE
Our original learning programs for SELF-Leadership are available in Romanian and English, for 1:1 or group sessions, either in-person or online, via digital platforms.