The Legacy Command game, and the coaching system built around the game mechanics, represents a repeating set of personal growth phases known as, “The Sonic Cycle.” My writing for this blog will reference this cycle, and the posts will often fall into addressing questions, ideas, and research from one or more of the phases. I would like to introduce you to The Sonic Cycle. The following is a cursory explanation of my definitions and plans for exploration of each phase.
Inspiration - The divine spark. The ideas and passions we are infused with as if direct from the divine. What determines inspiration? What causes a seed of wonder in our inner world to sprout into behavior in our outer world? How do we allow the deepest connection to our own personal creative process to come through?
Innovation - Where creativity and focus collide harmoniously and unpredictably. How do our best ideas turn into developed and unique expressions? What separates an existing body of work from new permutations of the work? How do we determine if something is innovative? Is there a limit to innovation?
Motivation - Not to be confused with “self-discipline” (a concept that to me is a bit useless and arbitrary), motivation is the force of action that is driven from a mysterious and seemingly unreliable source. Why are we endlessly motivated to do some things and not others? What causes our motivation to end? Can we force motivation, and if so, were we designed to manufacture this force on our own or communally? How much of motivation can be considered “free will,” and how much is random, or, possibly even programmed?
Connection - We are driven by, toward, for, and away from connection with ourselves, with others, with our communities, with nature, and with a higher power. Connection is an enigmatic driving force behind our behavior which provides meaning and context for our existence, accomplishments, and identity. What effect does a lack of connection have on inspiration, innovation, and motivation? What determines who we connect with naturally and who we don’t? Which psychological axioms are most useful for connecting with others? In what ways does connection play a key role in our achievement?
Achievement - We complete tasks every day while also harboring visions of our future achievements. Even though we may achieve a lot, we may still find ourselves unfulfilled. Why? Small actions and persistent behaviors form habits that determine the quality of our lives. Whether completing a trivial task or completing a grand vision, how does the completion affect us? Where our time was once committed entirely to a major project, and it suddenly becomes free, how do we manage the transition? When we look at our past achievements, can we better determine where our time in the present should be spent? When we look at how the world around us has changed upon completion of our goals and visions, what process can we develop to gain the most insight from our own personal transformation alongside the transformation of the space and matter around us?
Fulfillment - The achievement itself is not the end for us. Once we have achieved, we enter a phase of fulfillment. This is a period of reflection and reward. We consider the context of our achievement. We feel our way through what it means to our identity, and how we might live life a little bit differently. Or sometimes, how we might live life a lot differently. From this place of fullness and accomplishment, we begin to think about the future and what new options are available to us. When we begin to contemplate the unbounded possibilities ahead, we enter a period of transformation.
Transformation - Achievement transforms us, even if we consider it a failure. And through the process of transformation, we often find ourselves back at Inspiration to begin anew. Sometimes, there is a gap where we feel lost. We have achieved greatly, or failed greatly, and we have known the comfort of striving so closely that we are now in an unknown world of new possibility. The end is always a new beginning. One door closes as another door opens. We always grow forward spontaneously, and such is the nature of life.
I will be releasing a follow-up post to this first bit of writing on The Sonic Cycle. I split them into two parts because there was a natural shift where I began describing some examples to support clarification within the concept of The Sonic Cycle. I wanted to spend more time on the second section, as well. You may have realized already that my writing is sturdily and firmly planted in the “long-form” category. Long-form is my home. But, for all of you TLDR junkies out there, you get a light and breezy 811 words from me this week. ;-) Bask in the brevity!
Stay Magic,
SOVRRN
My Google Slide art is untouchable, I'm aware. lol.