Last week we explored the question, Who are you being?
Today I'd like to explore why so many patterns continue repeating, even when we genuinely want something different.
When you were growing up, your experiences shaped the beliefs you formed about yourself and the world around you. Over time, those beliefs became part of your identity. Once your subconscious accepted them as true, it began interpreting new experiences through that understanding. Every experience was filtered through what you already believed, making those beliefs feel more certain with each passing year.
This is one of the reasons patterns can continue for so long. The meaning you assign to an experience strengthens the belief that created it. As that process repeats, the belief becomes increasingly familiar. Eventually, it no longer feels like something you once concluded. It simply feels like the way life works.
That's why two people can experience something similar and walk away with completely different beliefs about themselves. The experience matters, but the meaning attached to it has an even greater influence. That meaning becomes part of the identity your subconscious works to preserve.
This is also why lasting change begins with awareness. The moment you recognize a pattern, you have an opportunity to become curious about the belief that's creating it. Instead of asking why the same experience continues appearing, you can ask a different question.
What belief is creating this experience?
That question changes where you place your attention. Rather than focusing on the pattern itself, you begin exploring the identity beneath it. As your understanding changes, your choices begin changing as well. Those choices create new experiences, and those experiences gradually become evidence for a different belief.
Identity is always evolving. The question is whether it's evolving by default or by design.
This week, pay attention to the patterns that continue showing up in your life. Rather than accepting them as facts, become curious about the belief beneath them. You may discover that the pattern you've been trying to change has been pointing toward a story that was ready to be rewritten all along.
Reinventing Myself
The words Reinventing Myself have become much more meaningful to me over the past several months.
When I created this artwork, I wasn't thinking about moving across the country or beginning a new chapter in Maui. I was thinking about something much simpler.
Who are we becoming?
I don't believe reinvention happens all at once.
It happens every time we make a choice that reflects the person we're growing into. Over time, those choices begin changing the way we see ourselves, and eventually they become part of our identity.
That's the idea behind this piece.
The little bee-winged girl stands quietly among blooming flowers with the words reinventing myself beneath her. To me, she's a reminder that growth is an ongoing process. Every experience teaches us something. Every season invites us to become someone with a little more wisdom than the person we were before.
I hope this tote becomes more than something you use to carry your art supplies, books, or everyday essentials. I hope it reminds you that every day is another opportunity to become the person you're choosing to be.
