I was stumped today as to which female songwriter to feature. I was blowing leaves – a regular occurrence this time of year – and I told myself to think! Which then made me start humming the iconic Aretha Franklin song of that same title – Think! I featured that song last Inktober, so I did some research on other songs written by Aretha…Rock Steady came to mind. She wrote it in 1972 to change her brand, change her style, change the way her career was going…and it worked! She was intentional about making things different for her moving forward. She got a new band, all white guys, changed her location and changed her style.
Making changes can be hard when you have been successful at doing what you have always done. What’s the old saying, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” And that is true for most things. When it comes to handling life and all the things decades bring about, sometimes the only real thing to do is change. Which means reinventing, starting, stopping or even completely wiping out the old and bringing in the new. How ever it happens life changes are exciting and daunting at the same time. Sometimes the hardest part is knowing when to change and when to stay the same.
Bored, tired from your current grind, unenthusiastic about anything or everything, major events taking place in your life? All of these are great reasons for changes to begin. They do not have to be a clean sweep, most of the time one thing each day is enough to make grand change possible. Knowing it is time to change and then taking the first step is usually the hardest part. Sort of like jumping off a cliff without a parachute, or at least that is how it feels. It may sound crazy and yet the first step is the worst part, from there you are well on your way. It is a funky feeling to leave behind what we know and face the free fall of the unknown. Like I said, the first step is usually the hardest. Once you take the step the rest often falls into place.
Channel your inner Aretha Franklin, make changes and do them intentionally. Know that your time is coming, something new is in the air and give that funky feeling all you’ve got.
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