The mind is everything. What you think, you become.

One of the biggest surprises in starting my business is how much writing and content creation has become a part of my work.

I struggled with this when I was starting Wildlight (still do) because I was convinced that I’m more methodical and analytical and not very creative or artsy. But is that true? I was once pretty creative: took drawing classes, painted, journaled, threw ceramics, played instruments. I’m crafty with my kids. What happened?

So I did some more reflecting.

Most of the 15 years of my career was spent in strategic sales and leading account management teams where I relied heavily on data to build out tools and success metrics for my teams and clients. My colleagues were highly analytical thinkers with MBAs and I often felt like I was behind. I knew I needed to improve my data skills to be successful and would sign up for Excel, SQL, Tableau learning & development sessions at work and surrounded myself with mentors who were strong in these areas.

And you know what?

I put so much effort into becoming more of an analytical thinker that I started to self identify as being left-brain dominant and kind of forgot about the other side.

Since starting my business, I now set aside creative time blocks to listen to music, think, write, design, doodle and read. I’m rediscovering some of my creative skills and interests that had been tucked away for years because of my previous jobs.

It’s pretty cool to know that I can always switch gears, reverse course, take control — as long as I think it.

As the Buddhist quote above suggests, our minds are powerful. We can let our thoughts hold us hostage to where we can spiral into a rut. Or we can learn to control our thoughts and allow them to free and empower us.