You must expose yourself on a personal level to things that are bigger than you are.
To expose means to make known; to cause to be visible or open to view. When you expose yourself to something, you are making yourself more aware of it. You’re able to see it and experience it.
It’s a topic that is very near and dear to me because exposure literally changed my view of the world, it changed how I see my capabilities, and it ultimately changed my trajectory.
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The Purpose of Imagination
Imagination and exposure go hand in hand. During a prior episode of the podcast I talked about visualization and how to use your imagination to really paint a picture in your mind of the life you want. Also in that episode I highlighted some advantages of imagination mentioned previously by my pastor. I’ll share them with you below:
- Your imagination allows you to see in advance what God has already made available and what He intends for you to experience.
- Imagination enables you to partner with God in creative experiences and acts.
- Imagination protects you from fear and discouragement.
- Imagination moves you outside of the constraints and limitations of the physical realm, because at the end of the day we are spiritual beings.
- Imagination empowers you to do that which is both difficult and foolish from a natural perspective.
How Exposure Changed My Trajectory
When I was in the 4th grade, I had a fairly new teacher to my school. To respect her privacy, i’m going to call her Mrs. B.
One day, Mrs. B called me aside to an area near her desk and she said, “I have something for you.” She gifted me with a copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, which is a famous Children’s Christian Fiction novel.
While everyone else was reading the Berenstain Bears and Goosebumps, I was reading the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Reading that book opened my eyes to so much more than what I had been exposed to in the form of storytelling, and this, this is where my love of reading comes from.
Mrs. B changed my trajectory by introducing me to more complex books. It expanded my vocabulary. The book allowed me to imagine the world outside of my innercity neighborhood and outside of America because the story was set outside of London.
How Exposure Changed my View of the World
My worldview changed when I started traveling internationally. I started out by becoming an international exchange student at the University of the West Indies Mona Campus which is in Kingston, Jamaica. The University of the West Indies is referred to as UWI for short.
The program was hosted by the Center for Global Engagement at FSU and it aims to put students in a position to develop a deeper understanding of another culture through this short-term cultural exchange. It’s a super competitive program because they only select 12 students per year. The university has like 40,000 students, and somehow I made it into the program.
It was a two part program. In the first part, the UWI students came over to the U.S. and spent some time immersed in culture at FSU, then we, the American students, went over to Jamaica to immerse ourselves into UWI and Jamaican culture.
That experience really showed me how I had been stuck in my bubble in the U.S. I hadn’t learned much about other countries in school. I wanted more.
After being exposed to life in another country and how the students at UWI were students of the world, I knew I wanted to explore more of the world.
So, during law school, I moved to London. While in London, I traveled to Italy, spent a few days in Rome. Then I traveled to Calais, France and Paris, France. Stopped over in Munich, Germany and Zurich, Switzerland. I was all over the place! You couldn’t tell me I wasn’t a Londoner while I was there.
Benefits of Exposure
The benefits of exposure are endless. Purpose finds you working and exploring. The more you expose yourself to new things, the more you will want to experience and learn new things.
There are some other major benefits as well.
- Learn. Exposure allows you to learn new and interesting things. We should always be learning. We are students of life.
- Perspective. Exposure is a game changer because it changes your perspective on things.
I guarantee to you that once you start exposing yourself to different things, you will become a better leader, your parenting will change, your approach to life will shift, your creativity will be on a whole new level. Nothing can stop you.
What Will You Do?
What are you going to do to expose yourself to new things? You are already exposing yourself to aspects of purpose by reading this post, which is excellent, but how do you plan to apply what I’m sharing with you?
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Disclaimer: If you happen to purchase anything I recommend in this or any of my communications, it’s likely I’ll receive some kind of affiliate compensation. Still, I only recommend things that I truly believe in and have personally experienced. If you ever have an issue with anything I recommend, please let me know. My goal is to help you thrive in your purpose. — Pavielle