Why changing your mind is an integral life skill

I remember the days when I thought that changing my mind was a sin; like seriously I carried so much weight around disappointing ‘them’. I carried SO much shame around making a new decision because I was taught I had to finish what I started. But what is the fun in that, am I right? Years later I have learned a couple of things . . . one,  if we never changed our mind we would be stuck, like really stuck and not able to give ourSelf the opportunity to evolve into a more expansive, grander version of ourSelves. And two, after learning my Human Design, my energy type and my constitution are quite literally designed to pivot quickly and move in motion and with my life’s flow. Remember, life is not stagnant, we are ALWAYS in motion and we are forever learning to ride the waves. How do we begin to ride the waves of conscious change?

I want you to remember a time where you were scared to choose something different or change your mind. Maybe that’s deciding to go vegetarian, maybe that is leaving a partner or a job, maybe it’s moving cities. What if you hadn’t made the choice to change your mind, to leave the partner that at one time made you happy or take your health more seriously because your back kept hurting or take the big job opportunity even though it was in a different city, where would you be right now? The same spot sulking in a corner I bet. What if you had never leaned into change? The world has this funny way of making us think that once we decide that is it, we’re in it for life, whatever ‘it’ is. NO. NO. NO NO NO. This needs to stop. You are not stuck in your current job, your current relationship status, your current situation and here’s how we start to believe it . . .

My first dirty little secret on changing your mind is the ‘them’ we feel like we are disappointing is actually a current version of ourSelf that we are judging based off something we were told we had to do in the past. We are judging ourSelves either consciously or unconsciously based on something someone else has taught us. Some of my inner stories that just weren’t true were: 

Erin, you have to finish everything you start  Erin, you can’t give-up on something you started  Erin, you change your mind too much

These stories were given to me by the adults who guided me. Little did they know in Human Design I am a Manifesting Generator which means I am designed to move fast and pivot even faster to make my life more full for me. AND in my human design profile I have a 3 which quite literally means I am here to try and try again and that’s how I learn. By adults conditioning me to feel better when I finish something was just SO opposite of me. I was taught I have value when I get the gold star, the certificate, the degree and I bet you I am not the only one out there that has been conditioned just like this. If I had not changed my mind I would have never dropped out of university that was sucking all my life away, I wouldn’t have even thought of doing a yoga teacher training and I would have stayed in some seriously crappy relationships. I thank the universe every day for my ability to change MY mind and I have also learned how much power lies in this ability to pivot at any minute, cough cough COVID! I invite you to begin to notice inner dialogue or stories that may not be yours and begin to consciously change your mind if that’s what is calling to you! 

You may be asking, ‘But Erin, how do we know it’s what we want?’ And my answer, YOU TRY IT OUT! Remember when we were little and we got to try all kinds of sports, crafts and subjects in school, it’s kind of like that. We forgot somewhere in the transition from child to adult that we get to try things out, play and see what fits. This looks like giving ourSelves some grace as we go and really leaning into the inner child in us. So maybe you want to take up knitting but try one time and just hate it because you didn’t get it right away. When you were learning to ride a bike, did you try one time and then never again, NO. If you were like me, you got on that bike 17 million times that day and didn’t get it so started again the next day. I knew I wanted to learn to ride a bike so I did. I didn’t care how many times I fell, I didn’t care who saw me, I just kept going because I believed in mySelf. This is what we need to bring into changing our mind as adults. As adults we feel we need to get it the first time, well, because we’re adults. But what if you try this on, what if you leaned into that childlike wonder when deciding to change your mind. Instead of leaning into all the things that could go wrong, what if you leaned into all that could go right, all the possibilities that come with this new choice. When I was learning to ride a bike all I knew is that I would learn to ride a bike. I knew that if other people could do it, I could do it too and I gave mySelf grace and patience along the way. Let’s take after little Erin and give ourSelves some grace as we begin to choose differently. 

I know I dropped Human Design earlier and that might be a new term for you. Human Design is a system that helps you understand yourSelf on a deeper energetic level and really feel whole as yourSelf. There are 5 energetic archetypes and here’s my next little secret, we are ALL designed to change our mind and respond to life as it comes. As we all know, life is always moving and so should we. We can ground in moments and feel rooted in our happiness but it is inevitable that things will come in and out and change. Think about Covid; it created an upheaval for many because they hadn’t changed their mind in years. They decided what their life would look like years and years ago and made the decision to stay there without any wiggle room for new possibilities or opportunities. When covid shifted all lives on some major levels, it was/is hard for some people to see another way of life. This global level wave taught us as a collective that one, it is essential to practice non-attachment and two, learning to go with the flow is an integral life skill. To start practicing non-attachment means showing gratitude for all that we have in this moment because at any time it could shift, even when it was not our choice to make the change. Going with the flow is really allowing yourSelf the safe space to change your mind, listen to your body when making decisions NOT your mind. So I ask you, how could you begin to go with the flow today to help give yourSelf permission to change your mind more often. Remember, this doesn’t mean every mind change is drastic, this could look like changing your mind to going out with a friend or what you’re going to eat for dinner, really anything! 

We know that life is ever moving and so should we. Some of us will change our mind more often than others and that’s okay. Some of us may take longer to feel comfortable in our shift in decision making but I promise you it is worth it. Giving yourSelf permission to change your mind allows room for adventure, huge expansion and magic. Changing your mind is saying yes to the universe and what it has to provide for you. If we continue to say no to what comes our way, we may always feel that, is this it feeling? When we decide to ride our waves in all of their directions, we get to experience life fully and to its true beauty. Way more fun, right? What are some things you’ve been dying to change your mind on but just couldn’t bring yourSelf to . . . TODAY IS THE DAY! GO DO IT :) 

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