23/09/2016
The Art of Synchronicity
Synchronicity is a concept developed by psychologist Carl Jung to describe a perceived meaningful coincidence. He argued that events in our lives may be connected by meaning and as such need not have an explanation in terms of cause and effect. And therefore liberating some of us from falling victim to circumstances.
I too choose to believe that we can forge meaning out of seemingly unrelated events in our lives by weaving them into stories about ourselves and the world around us and thereby creating our reality. Story telling is a big part of who we are, so here is a story I like to tell about me which explains how I find synchronicities in my life.
My mother named me Beata but it was not until I took Latin in high school that I learned the meaning of my given name. To “beatify” means “to bless, make happy and ascribe a virtue” and so I like to reflect on my life in terms of being blessed, my lifelong pursuit of happiness as well as my strife towards cultivating virtues. Seeing this as synchronicity gives me a sense of purpose and helps me persevere in challenging situations. After all we live in the world of watered down values where many suffer from the sense of being trapped in the existential vacuum.
I could tell you plenty about the road that got me here: daughter of polish immigrants, I finished college, got married, had two kids and a corporate career. I believe however that how I describe and therefore define my past is very important and so I choose to see everything I’ve been through as a blessings that shaped me into who I am today. And so I see a synchronicity between the meaning of my given name and why I choose to be grateful and count my blessing these days instead of complaining about my circumstances and commiserating.
For the same compelling reason I have embarked on a journey of self-discovery that led me to a new definition of happiness. As my name calls me to think about what it means to be happy, that too becomes a synchronicity that I can’t seem to escape. I have chosen to switch careers recently, go back to school and become a well-being and happiness researcher. Today I am a positive psychology practitioner and I coach, consult, mentor, teach and research optimal performance, optimism, resilience and motivation.
But the story of my life would not be complete if I didn’t look into the future. And here I am reminded (also by the meaning of my given name) about the importance of the noble pursuit of cultivating virtues. It gets me thinking about how I will be remembered and the legacy I want leave behind making this the greatest of all the synchronicity linked to my name as it defines my core values and the direction I chose for my life. Aristotle tells us that “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore is not an act but a habit.”
So I would like to leave you with this question: can you see any synchronicities in your life? And if not, can you imagine how you could benefit from giving it a chance?
