Which Version of You is Leading?

Full disclosure. I began drinking alcohol at the age of 23. By this time, my children were six and seven, I was divorced and in a second relationship. I had moved interstate to a large city (I grew up in the country), away from my family, and had been put into a management role for the first time, and it wasn't one I was ready for.

The pressure was intense. One of my team members said to me, “You should have a glass of wine when you go home, it will help you relax”, so I did.

The Passing of Decades

Decades later, after career growth, grandchildren and life complexity, I decided to stop drinking the way I had.

I finally realised that we do not respond to reality. We respond to our interpretation of it. So I had a very productive conversation with past me, thanking her for supporting me in building a successful life so far.

I told her how grateful I am to her, how much I still love her and let her know it is now time for her to sit on the balcony and let the future me take the lead on the dance floor of life. I could feel her relief and her happiness at stepping back and resting.

She had done her work, and it was time for the future me she helped build to take over.

That conversation forced me to examine something deeper—how meaning is created in the first place.

Read more here, starting with How We Create Meaning