“When we ask human beings to show up without their full self, without their full, catastrophic self, with all of the messes that they are, with all of the discomfort, when we deny that we hold certain belief systems from our childhood, that we created those belief systems to survive the challenges of our childhood — what we are cutting ourselves off from is the very source of much of our creativity, much of our innovation. We actually become less productive, less imaginative. We lose our spontaneity and laughter and humor, because we have cut off, if you will, limbs.”
~Jerry Colonna, founder of Reboot Inc.
ca·tas·tro·phe
an event causing great and often sudden damage or suffering
a disaster
When I first heard Jerry Colonna speak the phrase “our full catastrophic self” a deep and historic place in my soul that had been holding its breath for a long time released a long exhale. How did he know that deep down I am a catastrophe? And yet in his On Being podcast interview, I heard no hesitancy, apology or shame in his tone of voice. Rather than whispering from inside a musty, dark confessional booth, Jerry Colonna was declaring in the town square a reality many of us suppress.
What does your ‘full catastrophic self’ look like? What belief systems does it hold from how you survived your childhood? What creativity, spontaneity, laughter and humor might be recovered if you released your full catastrophic self?