When I woke up one morning I found the word “congruent” lodged in my mind. At first it was an interesting experience, but after about an hour or two its presence became annoying. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get it to go away, so I decided I needed to pull it closer, and explore why it was there. My first step was to look up the definition. According to the dictionary congruent is an adjective that means in agreement or harmony; (of figures) identical in form; coinciding exactly when superimposed.
So why was this word dancing in my mind?
I decided to view it as a metaphor and apply it to life, my life to be specific. To accomplish this, I began asking myself a series of questions: What does a congruent life look like? Is it possible to have a congruent life? Is my life congruent? How would I know if my life was congruent? How would I know if my life was incongruent? This series of questions then lead me to explore questions about the meaning of my life, my soul, and my purpose.
This thread of questions meandered through my mind throughout the day and as the light of the day began to dim some of my questions found answers.
When my life is congruent everything seems to unfold seamlessly. I feel happy, content, and have a deep sense of peacefulness. I have no need or interest in conflict—either inner or external. At the same time, when I am not congruent I find myself struggling with self-doubt, worrying about what others think, questioning if what I am doing is enough. In fact I find myself wearing myself out wondering, worrying, and struggling so much that I burn myself out before I accomplish anything, then I chastise myself for being so unproductive and drive myself into a deeper, even less congruent state.
It is obvious to me that I am far more productive when I am congruent because I am not wasting energy struggling with inaccurate beliefs or perceptions about life or myself. If this is true, why would I ever be incongruent? The answer, unfortunately is quite simple: habit or learned behavior. We learn behavior and acquire behavior patterns when we are very young. These patterns then play out automatically without our conscious awareness of them. Our only clue to their presence is by looking at our life.
So, is your life congruent? Is it a reflection of who you are and what you believe? If not, I invite you to explore some of the ICWIB! art activities and videos for FREE because they are a wonderful way go inward and uncover incongruences so your life can be a true reflection of your authentic nature.
If you enjoy these messages, Like us on Facebook and share it with others to enjoy. If you would like to read previous posts, you can find them under resources.