profile

Build Something Better

Life Ain't a Straight Line

Published 2 months agoΒ β€’Β 3 min read

​

​

​

March 6, 2024


Hi Reader,

The following lyric from A Bit of Both by Allen Stone rang extra true for me following a session with a client earlier this week:

🎼 Until you're horizontal, life ain't a straight line

True? Or, true? πŸ€”

I mean, how often do we expect something to turn out a certain way only to find it unfold differently? Taking us down a road we neither saw nor anticipated? 😢

Then, when it happens, how do we respond? Are we able to go with the flow and trust the process? Or, do we dig our heels in and fight for what we think 'should be the right way'?

Here's (I hope) a helpful illustration:

🀯

I would like to suggest that this concept applies to almost anything in life, not just success. But, that it illustrates the pursuit of any goal or dream.

As well as our endeavors to build something better - for our families, our communities, our nation and our world.

Consider this: if we subscribe to an either/or, this/that, 'it must go in a straight line' way of thinking, we miss out on the nuance of possibility that exists in the realm of looking at things from a perspective of both/and.

And then, we tend to get stuck.

We put on the brakes and freeze because the path we were expecting to walk turned into a winding road with no known GPS coordinates and a lot of potholes.

But, what if, instead, we could start to see things like Allen says as, 'a little bit of both at the same time'?

What if we could retrain our brains to see things more and more as a both/and and less and less as an either/or?

Understanding that the magic is found in the many-optioned messy middle. πŸ’₯

How would that change our engagement with our goals?

And, our pursuit of our dreams?

Might be worth considering, yes?

And, pursuing.

And hey, I'm here to support you should you decide to start that pursuit. 😊

Your Coach,

Kari

p.s. You can listen to A Bit of Both here on YouTube.

This Week In The News

I believe that we are living in a pivotal moment in US history regarding our freedom as autonomous beings - especially those of us on the margins. To that end, in an effort to help people be informed of key or urgent news unfolding in our midst, I will include links to recommended resources I encounter week to week.

Feel free to engage, share or ignore.

March 4, 2024: from Straight White American Jesus (a podcast on religion & politics hosted by Daniel Miller & Bradley Onishi, ex-ministers who are now scholars of religion)

Episode: Brynn Tannehill on Civil War, Trump, and the Violence Ahead in 2024​

Summary: What happens if Trump wins? If he goes to jail before the election? If Biden wins, but the House GOP won’t certify the election? Brad goes through all these scenarios with Brynn Tannehill, author of American Fascism: How the GOP is subverting democracy. Brynn Tannehill is a Naval Academy graduate, former naval aviator, author, and senior defense analyst. Brynn is also a leading trans activist and essayist, and has written for The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Bilerico, Slate, Salon, USA Today, The Advocate, LGBTQ Nation, The New Civil Rights Movement, as a blogger and featured columnist.

πŸ“£ Announcements & Friendly FYI's

~ Want to go deeper into exploring and embracing your true, authentic self?

Experience the power of a free, 1:1 coaching session with me.

No obligation or pressure. Just magic! ✨

​

~ Don't need a coach, but you receive value & want to support my work?

​

~ Did a super cool person forward you this email? Join for free here!​

​

Kari Becken (they/she)

Life Transitions & Authenticity Coach, CPC / ELI-MP

coachkari@karibecken.com

218.341.3228

​
​

Sent to: Reader

​Unsubscribe Β· Preferences​

Kari Becken, LLC, 2712 W. 8th Street, Duluth, Minnesota 55806

Build Something Better

by Life Transitions & Authenticity Coach Kari Becken

When you look in the mirror these days, do you recognize the person staring back at you? It's okay if you don't. It happens. To a lot of us. Especially middle age. The question is, are you willing to dig in, explore and reconnect with who you once were and really are? I hope so! Because you matter. And, inside my weekly newsletter, you can begin your journey of embracing your true, authentic self as we build your something better, together. Hope to see you on the inside! πŸ’œ ~Coach Kari (they/she)

Read more from Build Something Better

April 3, 2024 Hey Reader, Last week's brief pondering between creating and building stirred the pot a bit... So, let's keep stirring. 😏 In case you missed it, here's the heart of it: To create something has a 'wave a magic wand and poof there it is' feel to it where building something speaks of an intentional investment of time, focus, commitment, energy and resources. Now, to clarify, I'm not against the idea or concept of creation. In fact, I'm a content creator (as this email is evidence...

about 2 months agoΒ β€’Β 2 min read
sparkling magic wand

March 27, 2024 Hi Reader, When you talk about improving yourself, and your life, which one of the following statements captures the essence of what it is that you really want to do? Create a life you love? -or- Build a life you love? Create a better life? -or- Build a better life? Create something better? -or- Build something better? And...does it even matter? πŸ€” I think it does. Here's why. To create something has this 'wave a magic wand and poof there it is' feel to it where to build...

about 2 months agoΒ β€’Β 1 min read

March 20, 2024 Hey Reader, I have a confession 🀫 to make to you this week about something I've been resisting for a long, long time. But, before I tell you what it is, let me pave the way just a little bit. Since I started coaching professionally 5 years ago, I've wrestled with what kind of coach I should be. Translation: what do I want to call myself? Core Energy Coach? Life Transitions Coach? Identity Empowerment Coach? πŸ€·β™€οΈ To be honest, I can't remember all of the title variations I've...

2 months agoΒ β€’Β 2 min read
Share this post