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What The Heck Does Pizzazz Even Mean?
The word came zooming out of me as I attempted to imagine a person who has overcome obstacles and created their own life stories. I looked it up; Pizzazz means “an attractive combination of vitality and glamour.” Yup, these people I speak about, for sure have some vitality in them. They have reached inward and found the strength to change their circumstances! To change your outside world, you have to go up against all the stories and beliefs you hold about yourself and the world. Even further, you have to believe you CAN do this!
How Beliefs Work
Beliefs are stories we tell to ourselves and that we believe to be true. They are interesting things.
- Implant: Somewhere along your journey, someone has told you something about yourself – verbally, non-verbally, or even unconsciously -aware or not, they were implanting an idea into you.
- Gathering Proof: An idea or story is just that until you have gathered proof of its existence. The tricky thing is, often times, perception is distorted by ideas and beliefs. When we go looking for evidence of something we usually can find it.
- Reinstate: The idea or story gets embedded into your identity – who you say you are.
- Reality: That story becomes a reality for you.
The RESULT…
Limiting self or limiting world view
Keeps you from seeing aspects about yourself or the world that contradicts the idea or story you believe.
The Power to Decide
Our power lies in being able to decide which stories we believe to be true about ourselves.
I am not saying we should live in a fantasy land, where we dismiss reality and make up our own stories. Though that sounds fun, it would leave out accountability and responsibility in all our relationships. We live interdependent upon other people. We have to be considerate with the power of telling stories, so they do not distort the truth or injure someone else’s value and power. We are all in this together!
You have the power to focus your energy on a better story about yourself!
Examples of limiting stories (and some other beliefs that may support them)
- I am not creative (there are more productive things to do with my time)
- I always need help doing things (I have difficulty figuring things out)
- I can’t keep a job (no one understands or treats me right)
- I will always be limited by my race or gender (people see me as a stereotype)
- I am stubborn and a cynical person (It’s hard for me to change my ways)
- I will never be able to be _ an actor, a doctor, a singer, a CEO__(I am from a particular background/class, and it’s challenging to change that)
- I put other’s needs first (My needs are not as urgent as others)
- I’m afraid of commitment (I don’t let other people influence my decisions; I’m a free spirit)
As you can conclude, these beliefs can hinder how you move and transform throughout your life. They may not be entirely wrong and they are not necessarily “bad,” but too much or too far one way can block new experiences from occurring.
To have more pizzazz, do not let the stories from society or even from people whom you’re close with define who you are. You define who you are. You determine what stories you believe!
The Magic of Believing In Yourself
One of the most devastating stories is one with the idea that you are not powerful. A small, insidious idea that you are a victim to the world around you, and you have no force for change. I grew up with this nasty belief. It is one that is hard to shake. It creeps into many areas of your life, keeping you stuck, complacent and even comfortable.
You can see it woven throughout all the stories I listed above. It is an underlining belief that distorts everything.
When we flip it, and believe the opposite – you are powerful, you are capable – magic occurs. Realizing and acting upon this power, we begin to see how we can change our reality. Is this not magic?
“Magic…the art of liberation, the act that releases the mysteries, that ruptures the fabric of our beliefs and lets us look into the heart of deep space where dwell the immeasurable, life-generating powers.”
Starhawk
The most crucial step in any form of change is the belief that it can happen.
You are capable of figuring out what is needed for the change you want to see in your life.
I stumbled upon the term self-efficacy during my studies in school and it profoundly changed my life!
Albert Bandura coined the term in his book, Self-Efficacy; The Exercise of Control. He explains that to study personal agency, we must first look at a person’s beliefs around their capability to cause change. Wow! Believing we are capable of creating change to get our desired outcomes is crucial to actually change!
You are capable of your core – you just have to remember. When you do, you are a force to be reckoned with. People will be wondering where you got all your pizzazz!
I’ll leave you with some questions:
- What can you observe about your nature, about the stories you believe to be true about yourself?
- You might believe a behavior/aspect/characteristic/quality can’t change, but if there is a sliver of a chance, what would you want to change about yourself or your life situation?
- What would shift in your life if you believed you were capable of changing this?
Much Love,
Kristina