Day 42: Be like Mike…

I heard something very powerful from a fellow builder this morning. During a recent practice with a team rinsing their identities, here is what a strong young woman shared with her team:

“I have a new one from my last rinse: ‘I am the woman my high school self would have been in awe of.’”  

She said it not from pride but with joy because of what she’s accomplished from a lot of hard work and dedication.

This hit me hard, so I went back to my identities to see where there has been evolution since my last version. Here are a couple that stood out to me and a real time rinse.

Old Mike: I am going to be a great father

New Mike: I am a great father and getting better each day

Old Mike: I am constantly thinking in the future and in the past, while sometimes living in the present

New Mike: I am more present then ever

Old Mike: I am not free of my desires (but getting better)

New Mike: I am aware of my desires and know which ones I am pursuing

Old Mike: I am afraid to have hard conversations with people I deeply care about

New Mike: I am not very good at having hard conversations but gaining more courage to do so

Here are a few that need no rinse and I feel more called than ever to lean into:

I am a perpetual work in progress

I am a builder of the next generation of entrepreneurs and leaders

I am an activator of people and their ideas

I am observing my ego and living as my ego

I am mostly freed from my anxiety 

Would my high school version of Mike be proud and even in awe of this current version of Mike? Would my 16-year-old self want to be like the Mike I am today? My monster ego would love to tell me no. But when objectively looking at the truth, it moves me deeply that the answer might be yes.

Who are you becoming? Let’s keep rinsing and see what happens..