Iteration.
It goes hand-in-hand with exploration.
2018 was a year of exploration: My family visited all fifty states in just six months.
We took it as it came.
I learned to focus and get work done anywhere with a wifi-fi connection. My husband learned to independently manage two children on the road in a Honda without much of a plan.
It opened our eyes to a lot. It taught us that, despite how much we had traveled before, we lacked perspective.
It taught us about what we prioritize in this life. It taught us to drop the things that don't matter and to live and give more fully while we're here.
It brought me to where I am today in 2019: Iterating.
Personal iteration is granting oneself the permission to ebb and flow - to test things in an effort to learn, adjust and grow. Iteration has become an important practice for me.
Why am I sharing this?
Iteration is a word we most often associate with our work products (think software iteration, product iteration, program iteration, etc.).
There is a lot more context to this word - context often overlooked.
Reflecting upon and practicing personal iteration will open up new doors for you. It will allow you to become in-tune with yourself and show up more fully in everything you do.
But, how do you do it?
Let's start with three things:
1. Accept that change is always inevitable. If you accept this fact, you can use change to shape your perspective. Find joy in the fact that change allows for personal iteration and discovering refreshed versions of yourself.
2. Remember that if you are not evolving, you are not growing. You will fail during the process; failing is part of the growth process.
3. Learn from the process of failing. As you try new things, and walk yourself through changes and personal iteration, you will learn what doesn't work for you and that allows you to iterate in the right direction of what will work for you.