Well Hello There!
Welcome friends! What a great space to meet and chat awhile, thanks for taking a few moments of your busy life to listen and reflect. This is a picture of me and my dog, Winnie (and by the way she is one of the best dogs ever). As you can see we are having a great time together. More on that in a moment, first let's talk about the title of this post.
Bold and Content? I Don't Get It
Being bold and content seems rather counterintuitive at first glance, right? When considered briefly, yes, it sort of does. But if we dig deeper and chew on these two concepts a bit more, you can see where they are actually supportive of each other, or eat least supportive of a wellness journey.
What does bold really mean? By definition, being bold is being confident and courageous while taking risks. Simply put, being bold means you trust yourself enough to take action as opposed to being a passive passenger in life. How often do we hear (or say) fatalistic statements like "I just have bad genetics", "I'm not even going to try", or "I would love to have more meaning in my job but my boss won't let me be creative". Speaking, thinking and feeling like we have no control over our lives sets us up for a continued self-fulfilled prophecy of perceived failures. It is easier to blame something or someone else than to boldly make your own choices.
And contentment? How does this align with risk taking and being courageous? Great question. While risk taking produces both successes and stumbles, contentment provides you with the peace of mind in knowing that both success and stumbles are accompanied by learning. The end product of risk taking results in these beautiful life lessons that are offered to us as gifts of deepened understanding, empathy, joy, and awe. Contentment offers us a space to revel in life's satisfaction despite the labeled "good" or "bad" outcomes of our bold life choices. Contentment provides a mechanism to embrace an internal harmony despite external circumstances.
Story Time
Back to my dog Winnie! You can see that Winnie is living in the moment. She is boldly making choices to offer her love to me or anyone that will pass by for that matter. In doing so she is content. She is happy and peaceful in her actions. Her intentions are pure and her happiness genuine. Now, I am not saying that we should disregard the use our prefrontal cortex to make good decisions, plan for the future and weigh options prior to making our bold choices. But I will say that humans do not deserve dogs, and there are a few things we can learn from them. Like making the deliberate choice to connect, seek joy, and be content with what life has to offer us.
When I created this company, Bold Contentment, I wanted to not only share my professional and educational experience with others, but I also wanted to share a bit of my own personal wellness journey. Those that know me know that I enjoy telling stories and connecting with folks. Generally speaking, I am lighthearted and a bit goofy. I find this style of "making connections through laughter" is the best and most approachable way to any meaningful behavior change a person chooses to embark upon, myself included. I just learn better when someone is telling me a lived experience story on a given topic rather than discussing a research article in scientific jargon. I think most folks are the same. It is a more comfortable approach to learning. While I take a light-hearted approach to my writing, facilitating and coaching, all that I share with you is rooted in best practice, current evidence.
Thank you for taking these moments out of your day. It is my hope that you can reflect on these two interrelated concepts throughout your day and find some commonalities in your own life. Be well. Be bold. Be content my friends!
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