3

Have I Evolved?

What challenges do you face year after year – and in what ways have you changed for the better over time?

This topic came up when Melia was doing her Reschool Yourself project, spending time in her old classrooms to reconnect with the joy and creativity she had as a child. As she went back to the places she started from, especially in middle and high school, she found herself asking this question, “Am I any happier and more evolved than I was 10 or even 20 years ago?”

She came across a theory of learning called “the spiral curriculum” that totally changed her perspective on this question. Psychologist Jerome Bruner believed that no matter what their age, children can understand difficult ideas, in a simplified way at first, then with more complexity as they get older. Imagine a spiral starting from the ground and circling upward.

You can apply this to the problems you keep encountering. You might feel like you haven’t made any progress, but this time is actually different because you have previous experience to draw from. You’ve moved higher up on the learning spiral – even if only a little – since the last time.

 

What Melia still struggles with:

  • Self-care
  • Time management
  • Getting stuck in a dark mood
  • Overthinking things

What Gill still struggles with:

  • Procrastination and avoidance
  • Self-criticism
  • Caring too much about what people think

Ways Melia has evolved:

  • Being more comfortable who she is
  • Not apologizing or “shoulding” so much
  • Investing time and money in things that make her happy

Ways Gill has evolved:

  • Knowing herself better and saying “no” to things she doesn’t want to do
  • Choosing people she wants to maintain relationships with

 

Get It Together / Got It Together

In previous episodes, we’ve taken turns naming a Get It Together (something that needs work) and Got It Together (something that’s going well). But a listener wrote in to say that she’d like to hear a Get It Together and a Got It Together from each of us. We thought that was a great way to show that all of us are really Semi-Together.

 

Melia’s Get It Together: Dealing with the weekday morning rush

Melia’s Got It Together: Knocking out a bunch of tasks during “Power Hour”

 

Gill’s Get it Together: Procrastinating on decluttering

Gill’s Got It Together: Planning a weekend trip with girlfriends

 

Get in Touch

What’s your answer to the question, “Have I evolved?” Tell us how you’ve changed over time, and what challenges you still have yet to crack. Drop us a line at podcast[at]semitogether.com. And please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast wherever you listen.

 

Resources:

  • The spiral curriculum
  • Follow Melia at meliadicker.com for more on personal development, and sign up for her semi-biweekly TinyLetter
  • Keep up with Gill’s food and travel adventures at Traveling To Taste
  • “‘Good for her! Not for me.’ That is the motto women should constantly repeat over and over again. Good for her! Not for me,” the brilliant Amy Poehler, in her book Yes Please
  • Planning a Power Hour
  • Doodle group scheduling tool