Narrative inquiry; analyze the stories we tell (ourselves)

As I reflect on this tumultuous year, I find myself drawn to a more embodied and intuitive approach to processing my experiences. Inspired by the Narrative Inquiry method I learned about earlier this year, I decided to use two shoelaces on my desk to map out my journey through the year. This is something you can easily do yourself. Describe your day with one rope. And the other rope I used to plot how I felt during that day.

Embodied reflection tool

One lace represents the events of the year, while the other traces my emotional landscape. As I drape the laces, I'm struck by how often the two diverge - moments of external chaos paired with unexpected resilience, or periods of relative calm tinged with underlying anxiety.

The COVID-19 aftermath is large, creating steep peaks and valleys in both laces. I note the initial shock and fear, followed by a gradual adaptation to new routines. Business-wise, there are sharp turns representing pivots and challenges, but also gentle curves of innovation and growth.

This tactile exercise brings to light several key takeaways:

1. The event lace reveals the madness of deep-dives, new plans, pivots. But also how quickly we adjusted to new ways of working and living. This is the rollercoaster

2. The emotional lace shows more stability than I expected, given this year's challenges. But what does that mean? Are we able to cope very well? re we well trained to recuperate quickly? Or are we protecting ourselves by not getting to much emotionally attached?

3. Both laces smooth out during moments of meaningful projects with colleagues and loved ones. Moment it all makes sense

This embodied reflection has given me a fresh perspective on the year, highlighting not just what happened, but how I experienced and grew through it. It's a practice I plan to continue, as it offers insights that purely cognitive analysis might miss.

I learned this tool from my colleague Julika who is a psycho therapist who combines Design thinking with counseling. Very hands-on, very embodied, very powerful. We used big ropes on the floor to really use the whole body instead of just mind and hands.