In this monthly newsletter, I share emergent perspectives from the field of regenerative leadership and systems change. I share personal stories, perspective-shifting tools and coaching inquiries to help leaders lead with more confidence and self-belief and shape relational cultures. I am Martina, a certified leadership coach, relationship systems coach and culture designer, passionate about creativity, liberation and systems change for a thriving planet. I run a creative studio, Thought Wardrobe, out of Copenhagen.
Everything you want is on the other side of "should"
Hey, Reader,
I hope you've had a good transition into 2024.
As I scroll through my social media feeds, I see many posts about goal-setting, go-getting, and go-get-ready’s for the year ahead. There is so much to achieve, boxes to tick, successes to create and destinations to arrive at. There are also posts about setting intentions for the year, choosing a word for the year, and generally taking a bit softer approach. I am definitely in this latter group after spending decades in go-smash-your-goals mode. And as much as I’m feeling the new year energy around me, I am still in wintering mode. 😴❄️
I am, however, contemplating my intentions for the year, well knowing - (from last year’s experience) that I might unleash an unexpected stream of events with whatever words I choose. They’re not just words; they are instructions to my subconscious - and it is listening. It definitely was last year. My 2023 words were courage, integration and community. I thought they mainly pertained to my business, but - life had other plans, and it took me on a bit of a wild ride. Like, really wild.
Early in the year, I had an urgent existential kind of need. I had an urge to remove the external structures of my work altogether. I felt trapped, and I knew I had to do it. I wanted to birth my leadership program, Creative Catalyst, which I’ve been thinking about for years, but I didn’t want it to carry any of the pressure of “should”. It had to come from pure creativity, pleasure and joy of creating.
So, to give myself that space, I didn’t take on any new projects, and I completely got rid of all the planning, the disciplining, the shoulds, the urgent, the important, the prioritisations, the lists, and the to-do’s. In my usual fiery manner, I threw myself into it head first, figuring things out as I went.
And I realised that all these plans I was so attached to were just fake structures, and they were propping up a fake work approach, a way that wasn’t my own but a remnant of societal prescription. A prescription to keep things safe and predictable. To control the future, to ensure that things happen in a way I had imagined - or else…..
I was dead tired of “should-ing” myself into productivity and overriding my own creative impulse and rhythm. So, it all had to go.
And it's been A PROCESS.
But what I found on the other side of it is the freedom to create on my terms, free from procrastination and following my creative impulse. We will be nurturing this approach to life and leadership in Creative Catalyst (doors are open).
And - I’m sharing my story in the hope of helping someone else who might be feeling just as trapped by their own “should”.
Read the full essay:
Everything you want is on the other side of "should".
With love 💚✨
Martina
I am a fellow creative leader, a certified Co-Active coach and a strategic designer. I bring 20 years of experience and expertise in digital innovation, experience design, leadership and education.
I help stressed creative team leaders reclaim their creative confidence and self-belief to shape cultures and work that matters (and have fun with it again). Together, we create new possible futures. ☀️
A new possible_________ newsletter
In this monthly newsletter, I share emergent perspectives from the field of regenerative leadership and systems change. I share personal stories, perspective-shifting tools and coaching inquiries to help leaders lead with more confidence and self-belief and shape relational cultures. I am Martina, a certified leadership coach, relationship systems coach and culture designer, passionate about creativity, liberation and systems change for a thriving planet. I run a creative studio, Thought Wardrobe, out of Copenhagen.
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