Foundations for Creative Success #foundation #selfimprovement #selfimprovement

So there are a ton of different images or metaphors that we can use to consider how crucial having a foundation or a base, a structure is as we strive to work through the act of creating or envisioning ourselves. To quote Michael G. Scott as he was resigning from Dunder Mifflin when his boss forgot to attend his party, you have no idea how high I can fly. In this case, that's absolutely true. We each of us have no idea how high we can fly given our individual set of wings and capabilities. But we must remember how a bird flies and how a tree grows. Birds use lift created by their wings, either flapping or gliding on currents through the air. Unfortunately for the bird though, they cannot remain eternally in the sky. They must obey and give in to gravity at some point, gradually gliding down to the ground. Without gravity to restrict the bird's flight height, it wouldn't be able to fly. The resistance from the wind coupled with the physical efforts involved in flapping and climbing through the air allow the bird to actually fly. But it requires resistance. Success is not success without resistance. Let's explore briefly the image of a kite. Kites are unique. It's a unique juxtaposition of a flying contraption that is tethered to the ground or to a pilot holding the string down on the ground. It's a combination of the lift from the wind pulling the wings of the kite upward, plus the tether which is orienting the kite correctly vis-a-vis the wind which supports the kite in flight, despite the tethering of the kite downward. In our lives, this image can be very powerful. Resistance is required for success. But being firmly tethered to our base, our core values, provide for us the strength that we need to fly higher and higher as the resistance and effort are amplified through adaptive creation. Isn't that interesting? So if we lack an anchor, if we lack a string, then we'll be driven by the prevailing winds and tide. Another critical foundational tool for long-term success can be explained and discussed using the metaphor of an anchor like I just said. We are influenced and pressured by various sources. As we discussed in our introductory paragraphs and discussion, many, many sources provide inputs for us. They provide us with prompts as we develop and establish our core values and inner directions. As we are more and more exposed to the prevailing winds and cultural norms and biases, and pushed by the waves of our personal desires and wants, having an anchor in place that holds us steady in the face of these many external forces that drive or threaten to drive us out of our place is critical. As we go throughout this portion of our creative process, it is absolutely crucial to establish anchor points in our values and beliefs. These values and beliefs must be riveted, riveted, riveted to the fabric of our souls in strategic, strategic places. Much like how you'd see a good pair of Levi's jeans that has strategic rivets placed periodically throughout, and these strategic rivets are placed in those high stress areas, those areas that might be under the most wear and tear, the places that might have the largest potential to risk or rip, or the places that would wear out the fastest. Fortunately, the clothing designers opted to place a series of rivets to secure these areas in the jeans. In our lives, we must have a series of strategic rivets placed intentionally to support and protect our seams, our deeply held identified values. The seams and rivets and anchors of life offer great protection from a gradual slide off of our center. We've got to take advantage of and place these crucial pieces in appropriate places. If we consider how we are pushed and pulled toward changing social preferences and adjusting and swaying mores or values or beliefs, it becomes absolutely critical to develop a firm foundation of individual personal values that are rooted deeply in solid, previous, historical underpinnings.