Transformation Is a Thing

TED* Team · December 5, 2024

This week's TED* Works! blog is written by Jessica Albert. A mom of two young boys, wife, friend, engineer, lover of life, ultimate bookworm extraordinaire who is absolutely obsessed with the power of transformation (just ask the poor soul that’s ever brought up this topic to her!) in helping us both understand and fulfill our purpose in life.

Maybe you’re one of the ones who had it easy. The ones who heard a gentle voice calling, a small but consistent tug in the direction of growth. Or perhaps you were thrust in this direction not out of hope or calling, but rather out of desperation with where things were in your life.

Or perhaps you’re like me, a bit of both. A knowing deep inside that there was something more to life, but also rabidly clinging to my version of reality, no matter how dysfunctional or how much pain it caused me.

Regardless of how you got here, you’re one of the lucky ones.“Interesting,” you might say. “That’s not quite how I see it,” you offer, politely rebuffing my overtures.“This is no freaking picnic,” is what I would say if someone came up to me and told me I was lucky, likely inserting one of those words that packed a more satisfying punch.

Would you not agree that our life journey is no picnic? We’re here for transformation and, just like the poor butterfly, things get all goopy and messy before the beauty emerges.

And unlike the butterfly, the process is continuous. Grow, glow, struggle, shed. Repeat. It’s a lot.

But yet, we come back. We know the ecstatic high of seeing things in a new way. We know the goosebumps of becoming more than we thought possible. We increasingly feel the gentle hum of connection in our lives, all because of the slow, meticulous and methodical work we did to dismantle a harmful thought pattern that got in the way.

So, yes. We’re lucky. If you’re here reading this, you know that transformation is a thing. And that it’s not just “a” thing, I would propose that it’s “the” thing.

We humans are equipped with many qualities that distinguish us from our fellow mammals, but what I find the most intriguing is our ability to self-reflect and evolve. Unfortunately, this creative energy is usually wasted, siphoned off in unhelpful thought patterns in efforts to maintain those illusions of who we think we are.

This is what I love about TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic)^®. It helps us see where the leaky parts are draining our creativity. Whether it’s directed toward my repetitive observations that my coworker is frustrating, to wonderings on how to be a Rescuer to a friend from perceived poor life choices, or perhaps nursing a wound, feeling like a Victim to how the world is conspiring against me. Ah yes. TED* helps me to stop and ask, is this really what I want to do with my time and energy?

With the TED* framework, we learn that there is a different outlet for this energy. Yes, the work of transformation is hard, but at the end of the day or year, I can reflect on how my transformational work has left me with a richer, more vibrant life. It has slowly helped me become aware of the amazing creative energy humans possess, and channel it in service of something bigger than myself.

I matter. We all matter. My life is meaningful. And it does not have to be grandiose! Every single painstaking step you take toward transformation enables you to bring more beauty, more love, and more magic into this world. That matters. So yes, we are lucky.

Today, I encourage you to share TED* with a friend, family member, coworker, or even your church community as I did. Share a few insights from your transformational journey. Share that it’s “a” thing, maybe even “the” thing. Or, if you’re new to this idea, I am fulfilling my request by cordially inviting you on a journey. It is a hell of a ride, but I would not want it any other way.

With love from your fellow journeywoman,Jessica Albert