In episode 26 of the MINDSET ZONE podcast where the topic was “Do People Really Change?”, I spoke about a Greek philosopher called Heraclitus who said:
"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."
Heraclitus believed everything is in constant flow, everything always changes.
I thought about this when I watched a short video from Martha Beck, a popular life coach and author. She shared her strategy to deal with major life transitions. Martha begins with the perspective that “all life is transitory” and if we accept that, we can better deal with unexpected changes.
When life throws us a curve ball, it’s vital to press the pause button, and be able to see the situation from a wider perspective – to see the big picture.
This is easier said than done, and often we need support to be able to do this.
Eagle View
This can be called taking the eagle view.
This birds eye view enables us to see the bigger picture and decide what’s really important.
Yet, we have to return to the earth and like a small mouse, walk one step at a time.
Mouse View
As Martha Beck says, sometimes we have to reduce things to very small bites. One day at the time, in some cases, is too overwhelming. One minute at a time or even smaller bites - such as one breath at a time.
Here is how Martha Beck explains it:
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I love the Eagle and Mouse analogy, because really articulates the paradox we have to embrace to thrive and evolve in our lives.
Yes. We have to be able to see the big picture. To be that eagle that soars above and sees with clarity where she want to go.
Yet, we can not fly to our goal.
We have to come down to earth and walk toward it.
We often have to climb many hills, overcome many obstacle, one at a time, while we keep the bigger vision in our head and heart.
In practical terms, we have to transition as needed between an eagle and a mouse.
Love to hear your thoughts about this.