Actually, Awareness is Bliss!

We've probably all heard the phrase "ignorance is bliss." And isn't it the truth? We don't have to be - no really, we can't be - accountable for information we don't have, now can we?

The definition of ignorance is simply the state or fact of being ignorant; lack of knowledge, learning, information. It's not a judgment, it's just a fact.

But when our minds are stretched by a new idea, as Oliver Wendell Holmes tells us, they can never go back to their original dimensions.

Terms like "raising consciousness" and "becoming aware" might sound "new agey," but it's really not new age at all to become responsible for your own life. After all, responsible means only "able to respond." When we have new information, we now have more ability to respond to that information rather than being stuck in reaction mode, which doesn't require us to ponder or process.

It seems to me that if we are responsible for introducing change or new information into our lives then it becomes easier to manage that change as compared to being blindsided by those changes from the outside.

Charles Handy wrote about the Sigmoid Curve, and I've talked about that here in a previous post called "How's Your Head?". The short story says that instead becoming complacent during the life cycle of anything, be it a project or a marketing campaign or a relationship, and resting on the upswing (point A), we become strategic and introduce a new curve so that when we reach point B we are on the upswing instead of the downslope.

But what if we became strategic in our own lives about introducing ongoing learning and growth opportunities so that we wouldn't be surprised or upset about those changes? How might we be freed up to operate in our own areas of strength and also become more creative?

In that case the model might look more like this where, if we're introducing the changes ourselves, whether that be individuals or teams or organizations, we can plan for management of those down times knowing that we are preparing for the future instead of waiting for it to surprise us.

That way over time we can watch our learning and understanding grow. As curves are introduced over time, the gap might even become smaller as we become more comfortable with those changes. And as individuals are freer to accept changes and to operate in their areas of strength and creativity instead of being fear-based and worried about the competition, there might even be an additional boost that we can't even predict (the red dotted line on the model). George Patton once said, "Don't tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results." Who knows what people are capable of when they are free from stress and fear?

I'm finding that my clients and potential clients are very interested in exploring this model and seeing just what they might be capable of producing. The first step to new results is simply to become aware of what's currently going on and then making new choices.

What are you noticing on your journey to higher awareness in your own life? Isn't awareness more blissful than ignorance? At least when you're aware you can enjoy your bliss because you know what you know!