Transformers (the non-robot kind)

“Look for the gift. There always is one!”

These are the wise and hopeful words of a good friend of mine, Paul, as we were discussing the implications Covid-19 was going to have.

Looking back on that now, what strikes me is that he wrote these words to me mid March… right when the initial hysteria was setting in here in Australia.

Of course, this isn’t to downplay the absolute tragedy that continues to unfold globally every day.

It’s more about posture. How we choose to show up despite the adversity we’re faced with.

Paul is in the creative industry, and has every right to put up the white flag, pressing pause on his vision for 2020, and finding people to console him with sympathy as a victim of the pandemic.

In fact, he’s responded in the exact opposite way. Refusing to use this moment as an excuse, he’s looking for the gift.

And sometimes, when we’re brave enough to look, we’re surprised at what we find.

There’s a really challenging chapter in A Beautiful Constraint about victims and transformers.

The authors first describe a victim:

Someone who lowers their ambition when faced with a constraint.

In contrast, they paint the picture of a transformer:

Someone who finds a way to use a constraint as an opportunity, possibly even increasing their ambition along the way.

I want to be a transformer… like Optimus Prime, where there’s more than meets the eye!

So these are the questions i’m asking myself right now:

First looking inward…..

What change did you set out to make in 2020?

How is this still possible?

Where do you need to look to find the gift?

Where is the opportunity?

Second, to my environment…..

Who are you spending time with that is offering consolation and sympathy?

Who could you be spending time with instead that begin with empathy……

…… but take you to a place of possibility?