I’ve been working to fix my myriad of imperfections for years. Not all that long ago I had an ah ha moment as I was working with my coach. I was struggling to distinguish the difference between ‘transforming’ versus ‘fixing’ myself. I thought of them as two sides of the same coin until she used the analogy of Michelangelo Buonarotti and his David statue. She described Michelangelo’s creative process as taking his vision of the end result into the mountains of Italy where he selected the marble from which he would sculpt his masterpiece. Once delivered to his work space, Michelangelo would chip away here and chip away there until the perfection of David was revealed.
Michelangelo wasn’t creating perfection by “fixing” the stone. David already existed perfectly within the stone – he was just hidden underneath layers of excess that could be shed to release his glorious self. The transformation was a process of unveiling.
Like David, we also are perfect – already. Over the years we’ve encased ourselves in extraneous material that hides our stunning glory from our own eyes. (The irony is that a lot of times, others clearly see the beauty and gifts that we cannot acknowledge.) That material includes false beliefs, self-defenses and misperceptions. Instead of focusing on fixing things we see as wrong with us, we can be Michelangelo and chip off the stuff that no longer serves us. We can shed the limiting voices in our heads. Break-off the walls of unneeded self-protection. We can embrace ourselves as a unique version of David; equally stunning and perfect. A vision to be admired, loved and celebrated.
Getting out of “fixing” mode was freeing for me. I’m much more willing to consider and let go of the baggage I no longer need. And I’m more willing to consider that I’m uniquely breathtaking.
If you were to shift from fixing to transforming, what would the change do for you?