OutGrowth was built out of my desire to showcase the value of (and create the structured space for) exploration. I knew that we needed to begin to explore our possible futures and the hundreds of pathways available to us, instead of just seeing our trajectories as pre-determined and linear. I realized that each of us had the power to choose, over and over again, a life path that is meaningful, exciting, and uniquely ours. I knew that immersive experiences could provide the gateway for us to think, choose, and live differently. When we engage in new, novel experiences, we open ourselves up to possibilities and directions that we may not have considered. These experiences become our education, and reshape our worldview and our sense of self efficacy. This month, our focus is on empowerment and understanding the role we have in determining (and taking charge of) our futures. We feature stories from two extraordinary women, and provide you with a batch of tools and tips as you chart your path ahead. Happy reading. Grow out with us. |
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OutGrowth Today Our Monthly Blogger Spotlight + OutGrowth's Top Tip for July The En Root Scoop On The Power of Choice Our Top Ted Talk, Podcast + Book |
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Have you ever felt like you just didn’t have a choice in a situation? Your boss required something of you, or you had to do something for your kids. Or maybe you just had a feeling come up in your body and couldn’t stop the tears, or the yelling, or the exhaustion. |
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From a very young age you are given choices. As a toddler, you are given the choice of foods to eat, which then evolves into bigger choices as you grow, like the friends you choose, the sports you play, the career path you want. These choices start to shape your personality, your likes and dislikes, and eventually the path in life you start to build, one brick at a time. |
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| | Monthly Blogger Spotlight "Reframing" by Keira Wilson 'So much of our day-to-day is following along the with previously-laid tracks/foundations that have been designed and aim to serve only a few (often former decision makers). Human-centered design practices are giving us pause and the opportunity not only to reframe the issue, but also to acknowledge and take action in our role within the system.' Keira is a full-time celebration enthusiast, civic boundary spanner, and career coach. She is the Assistant Director of Life Design at Johns Hopkins University, leveraging creative spaces of service with community through a futurist and feminist lens. | | |
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| | OutGrowth's Top Tip On The Power of Choice: Recognizing Impermanence When we make decisions about our futures (especially within our careers), we have a tendency to think of these moves as big, permanent, irreversible choices. Because each move can feel big and permanent, we tend to put pressure on ourselves to make the right decision at all times. But what if we viewed our next moves in life as directions that we planned to "try on" in order to learn more about ourselves, and then recalibrate? What if each move didn't have to be the perfect next step, but could be a mechanism for gathering more information in order to build our way forward? When we take the pressure off of our decisions, we can take more risks, become more creative and ultimately explore new pathways and choices more freely. So here's to not always having the answer, but to always moving forward, one step at a time. | | |
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'Psychologist Barry Schwartz takes aim at a central tenet of western societies: freedom of choice. In Schwartz's estimation, choice has made us not freer but more paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied.' | | |
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