I wrote the post below in 2009 when I was going through a transition in my workouts. I was reminded of it this morning, while I struggled...
Read MoreFrom Caterpillar To Butterfly
A dear friend told me the story below a few years ago, when I was struggling with some personal challenges. Whenever I’m in a time of transition or experiencing “growing pains,” I remember it—and that remarkable woman—very fondly.
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Once upon a time…
… a caterpillar and a butterfly sat together on a stem. The caterpillar admired the butterfly’s wings and brilliant colors. “How can I become a butterfly?,” the caterpillar asked.
The butterfly responded:
You have to want to be a butterfly so much that you’re willing to give up being a caterpillar.
It’s simple (but not easy): For your current circumstances to change, you must allow change happen. Be committed to change. Do the work to change.
So when I feel stuck, I ask myself: Are you being resistant to a new routine? Is your affection or nostalgia for what you’re doing now—what’s comfortable—preventing you from moving forward with something new and better-for-you-right-now? Are you letting fear of change keep you from adapting? Can you let go of what you’ve been and been doing to become something new?
Spread your wings.
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What an awesome article/concept. Just what I needed today, thanks!
Glad it found you when you needed it!
Thank you for the blog about being willing to change. It struck an important chord for me. I hope to want to be a butterfly so much that I’m willing to give up being a caterpillar. I enjoy your insight and your humor.
I’m so glad this got you! All the best to you.
We’re moving from Seattle to Portland on Friday. What perfect timing for this little reminder. Thank you.
Best wishes for a smooth, uneventful move and lots of fun adventures!
Such an important part of change–getting really honest about what we’re hanging onto “just” because it’s comfortable in its familiarity.
Years back, before shifting to a full-on paleo eating pattern, I was hooked on having a particular muffin at a particular coffee shop every day for breakfast. Only when I went grain-free for 30 days as an early experiment–and then re-tried that muffin after the 30 days–did I realize how I didn’t even enjoy the taste of it all that much. It was just a familiar, comforting, known part of a crazy day.
These days, I eat paleo-primal 100% of the time (except for perhaps 5 or so times a year, when at some restaurant where something seems worth going astray). But the “muffin lesson” taught me to look for other places in life where I get a little too attached to something less than ideal or less than delicious–just because its familiar and thus comfortable. And, in seeing those places, I try (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) to stretch a bit beyond them.
This is such a great story! One of the most valuable things I learned from my Whole30 experiences was that awareness of what I was eating — and by extension, doing — in my life. When I worked in an office, I was the WORST about just eating whatever crap showed up in the breakroom. Old bagel because I was bored? You bet! Donut because it was Tuesday? Sure. Now I’m pretty good about thinking before anything goes into my mouth, and it’s made a world of difference. That awareness has trickled into the other areas of my life, too… just as you pointed out.
YAY!
Wow. This perfectly describes what I feel like when I’m really ready to commit to a change. I find that I can’t commit to a change – whether it’s Whole30, a new training plan, or even doing a lengthy chore – without this particular feeling where I’m in-my-bones committed. It’s because I’m ready to give up being a caterpillar. I love it!