Gino Wickman (00:00):
Hello and welcome back. This episode I call, Are You Expanding or Contracting? I find that we beings are either expanding or contracting at any given time. Expanding is when we grow, we learn something, we ascend, we shine brighter, we vibrate higher, we feel lighter, or we make an even bigger impact. Contracting and contraction is when we feel tight, we feel tense, something feels off, we're frustrated, we're sad, we're emotional, we're angry. And so again, we're either expanding or contracting. For me for what it's worth and so hopefully you can relate to this because I'm talking to you, whoever you are that is contracting right now, and then certainly everyone else that will be contracting soon, that every time for me when I'm in a contraction period, so again, I go through these expansions, contraction, the expansion feels amazing, the contracting hurts. And it's funny because when I'm in the contracting after a nice little run expanding, I think, "Oh, it was a good run. It's all over."
(01:28):
So I think the contraction is going to last forever. And hopefully that's not true. But I find that then after the contraction, I expand again. And so with that, I'll explain that in more detail. One of our mastermind members, he called it the shedding season. And so in his update, he shared with us that the last three months for him was a shedding season. So he went through that contraction period. And again, that's where we're shedding layers. And so it is like seasons where it's like fall and winter, things die, spring and summer things grow. And so a good way to think about it is like seasons. But we all go through these periods. It's unavoidable, and frankly, it's beautiful. The idea is to embrace it. The idea is to stay aware and just simply observe and observe what is the lesson in it, because it is truly beautiful.
(02:30):
It's just hard to see when you're in the contraction period. And so what I'm hoping in this episode, you will zoom out with me and see and understand this process of expanding and contracting because that's how everything grows, including us. So another way to look at it is there's a great article written in Harvard Business Review a few decades ago that is called The Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow. And so I want to go to a business analogy of growth because again, this is how everything grows in this universe. And so that amazing article called it evolution and revolution. And so it talked about as an organization grows, it goes through these evolutionary and revolutionary periods. And so after a growth spurt, there's then this revolutionary period where things are chaotic and complex, and it's a matter of figuring that out. And once you figure it out, you then grow to another level, i.e. evolution.
(03:39):
And then once again, you're going to hit that revolutionary period, also known as hitting a ceiling. And so this is how companies really grow. And I've been teaching it to my clients for decades as we all do as EOS implementers. And so again, that's how everything in the universe grows. It's how companies grow. It's also... Think about a rocket ship that is going into space. When that rocket ship goes to the next level and breaks through the atmosphere, there is incredible turbulence. That rocket shakes like crazy. Same exact thing. Evolution, revolution, expanding, contracting, turbulence. And so again, this is also how we humans grow. And so we humans have growth spurts, and so we have growing pains and then growth spurt, growing pains, growth spurts. That's how our bodies grow. And so again, it's the same as everything. This is how plants grow, animals, companies, humans, countries, societies, the universe.
(04:46):
So with all of that said, you are probably done physically growing. So I'm going to assume most of you listening are over 22 years old. I don't know when we stop growing as beings. If you're younger than that, you may still be physically growing. But for those above that age, you're probably done physically growing, but you are not done emotionally growing, mentally growing, energetically growing, relationally growing. And I could keep going, all forms of growth. I have a friend going through it right now in this person. They're in so much pain and I sit there giddy watching them because I know a breakthrough is coming, but that person cannot see it. And all the advice I could give, it's not heard because that person is just in it. And that's the point of what we're talking about in this episode is to get you to just fully understand what's going on, zoom out of it, observe what's going on, and just embrace it and enjoy it.
(05:52):
It's possible. And I'm speaking from experience. So here's the reality. You are a driven person. And if you, in your 10 Year Thinking, Discipline number one, has you envisioning bigger things for yourself in the future than where you are now, there will be growing pains. If you're envisioning a bigger company, more money, bigger relationships, whatever it is, there's going to be growing pains. I love how my parents always described it. They would say, good things happen and bad things happen, and neither last. But again, you will expand and contract. You will have evolutionary times and revolutionary times. Something good is happening and it's just hard to see and so stay aware. In the past, I used to just push through the contraction times, the revolutionary times. In other words, I missed the lesson. There was always a lesson in there and I missed it because I just through brute force and strength pushed through.
(07:08):
And so the reality is, however the heck this universe works, however this place works, and I have no idea, but something wants us to grow and ascend, whether that's the universe or God or source or just evolution. Again, I don't know how it works, but whatever you believe, it is at work helping you to grow, ascend, shine brighter, shed your shit, I believe we are meant to grow and ascend. And the idea is to listen to that. When I talk about ascending, please go back and listen to my episode on ascending, episode 60, if you need a refresher on that or you have not heard that episode, but that's exactly what we're talking about here in terms of the growth spurt. And the sad reality is that if you don't get the lesson like I didn't so many times, you get the lesson again and again and again and again.
(08:09):
And so you'll get it in your 20s, in your 40s, in your 50s, in your 50s, in your 60s, in your 70s, in your 80s until you get it. And then there's a belief out there if you don't get it in this lifetime, you're going to get it in the next lifetime. And there's a theory that says in past lifetimes, if you didn't get it back then here you are reliving that to learn the lesson. But again, once you learn the lesson and then you grow and expand, there's another lesson coming assuming you want to keep growing in this lifetime. And then the other reality is sometimes after all that growth and all those growth spurts and all those contracting periods, I'm like, "Oh, man, maybe it's time to just take a break for the rest of my life, sit on a beach, chill," and unfortunately that thought only lasts maybe a day because something keeps pushing me to grow.
(09:07):
And it's probably the exact same for you. And I think it's simply because we are driven. And so bringing into the homestretch, what's the point? The point is we expand and we contract, and the idea is to understand it, observe it, enjoy it. That's it. And as you embrace it, ride it and enjoy it, you will endure this revolution and contraction period and learn your lesson and grow to the next level. And then guess what? Another one's coming. That's the journey. So please enjoy it, embrace it, and have fun with it. I hope that helped. Thank you for listening in today. We truly appreciate you taking the time to spend with us, and please tune in for the next episode. Until then, if you'd like to see where you are on your True Self journey, go to shedandshinepodcast.com to take the True Self assessment and receive personalized guidance. If you're all ready to begin your inner world journey with Rob and myself, please join us for the next round of the 10 Disciplines Group Coaching program. We wish you all the best in freeing your True Self. Stay focused and much love.
