On a recent run I was listening to one of my electronic dance music playlists…(it is my thing when I run) when Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” started playing, sounds really deep and profound right? Well it was, maybe because I was in the flow and really able to think about some of the lyrics, two verses stood out for me starting with this one:

Like the legend of the phoenix
All ends with beginnings
What keeps the planet spinning
The force from the beginning

It got me to thinking, things, actually everything does end with beginnings and begin with endings, that cycle of beginnings and endings is the force that keeps us “spinning” it is life. Our lives began when our parents’ lives as they knew it ended. Our mornings begin when our sleep ends, our evening begins when our day ends. I could go on, however I trust you get the idea. As I have noted in a past post, what people often struggle with most is change. However if we think about our days and our lives as being a series of beginnings and endings we can look at life from a 10000-foot view. In essence we survive days upon days of nothing but changes and yet we don’t give our selves credit for navigating all these changes. Maybe if we consider reminding ourselves of this perspective and give ourselves credit for being better at change than we think we are, then change might loose some of its bite. If change doesn’t seem so scary because we do it all day long then starting and ending projects or goals would not seem as daunting; because with this new perspective we can realize everything at any given moment is always beginning or ending. And it means that if we can handle all of those little changes then we also the innate skills to handle big changes or make big changes. I feel this is a hopeful way of looking at life and change and it might make the transition into the New Year, just a teensy bit smoother.

So that brings me to the second piece of the lyrics:

We’ve come too far
To give up who we are
So let’s raise the bar
And our cups to the stars

If we have survived all those endings and beginnings, then we have come too far to give up on ourselves and we do deserve to celebrate and embrace who we are, while also raising our personal bar for ourselves and working towards living the life we want to live. We’ve earned it. So I challenge you to practice this perspective and think about my silly new word “beg-end-ings.” Because you might find that things seem a little less scary and you might be able to acknowledge how well you are doing at this whole business of life. And if you would like some support and coaching in making those changes, let me know and I will be there!