Blue Flame: Life on Fire

I was surprised the other day in conversation with a long-time friend when she stated that she didn't know what "blue flame" meant. Granted, there are a few meanings, but in the context of our friendship, which is self-development, Blue Flame is a sense of purpose, a calling to contribute to the world.

I was prompted to get clear, for her, for you, and for myself, what I mean by Blue Flame.

Before I define it, however, let me tell you why you should care.

The Disastrous Effects of Burnout

I believe we are experiencing unprecedented levels of burnout, and not just because of the recent global pandemic. Many people and businesses changed the way they operated as a result, much of it for the better. But many proffered solutions addressed only symptoms.

We're doing more with less. Work is often unsatisfying, and our home lives are rife with more pressures. Many of us are part-time and full-time caregivers, while also employed and meeting domestic demands. Rising food and fuel prices along with reduced professional opportunities and benefits create a recipe for chronic stress.

If you're feeling like a smoldering ember of your own dismembered dreams and someone else’s vision for you, you might be experiencing burnout.

If you’ve tried to hold the party together when it wasn’t even your party, your people, or your punch, but you still got stuck with the clean-up, you’re probably feeling pretty pooped.

This is Burnout! A feeling of exhaustion and overwhelm. Or worse. You’re past the feeling stage and you're just plain bored with being burnt out. You may occasionally get a flash of something, a spark of an idea that doesn’t quite form, but find it easier to sink back into detachment.

Good news. You're still alive. And re-identifying your Blue Flame could spark your inner fire back to live.

Defining Blue Flame

In the simplest terms, Blue Flame is all about meaning. We all want our life to mean something. We want to live a legacy and leave a legacy, however large or small.

My Blue Flame has always been teaching and motivating people to live lives of purpose and passion. It is represented by the image of a stage, a platform, from which I can share my message of hope and transformation.

I absolutely love to see people light up when they tap into what I call Every Day Genius (EDG), moving the boundaries of their lives by pushing at the edges of what they know to be possible.

Think of some people who are living on-purpose lives. They know what they want and they go after it. They find a way to not only get what they want by contributing to others, but contributing to others is very much a part of what they want. Blue Flame connects us to others in service.

If you're burnt out, your Blue Flame may be a foggy memory. Let's revive it!

Why Should You Bother with Your Blue Flame?

When you're feeling burnt out, you may be afraid of lighting any more fires in your life. You may be sitting in ashes, wondering how you can keep doing everything you're doing, hoping that someday, the company will hire more people to take some of your load, you'll get the promotion you know you deserve, the pet project you undertook to please someone else will be completed, the kids will grow up and move away alleviating the responsibilities you shoulder, life will just slow down.

Life in the abstract is not slowing down. Technological advances have made many things easier, but at the same time much more difficult. People are finding themselves enveloped in fear that technology will replace them, and it's possible that it will replace them, if they don't change with it. It's not an invalid fear, and there are remedies.

Global changes seem to be happening faster and faster, whether it's the meddling of world governments, natural and unnatural catastrophes, technological and economic change, or just the local demands of everyday life. None of us is entirely immune to the stress these changes cause, but we can take conscious steps to mitigate its effects in our life.

You can slow down your actual life, and you can do it without sacrificing fun, growth, and excitement. By reconnecting with your Blue Flame, you can begin to Focus Forward with intention. You'll be able to avoid much of what I call the Tyranny of Should and make more meaningful choices for yourself and those you care about.

Spark the Clean Fire

In actuality, Blue Flame fire is clean fire. It burns blue because the fuel is pure and oxygen rich. The combustion allows for the creation of carbon-dioxide, an element of life, instead of carbon monoxide and soot. Blue Flame is an efficient burn, uncontaminated with extraneous substances.

Rediscovering and re-igniting your blue flame can give you a jumping off point or a pivot point to create and live an exceptional life. You'll burn cleaner, creating life instead of the ash of burnout.

Ikigai - Japanese Concept of Purpose

“In the West, ikigai is often used as a career-finding diagram. In Japan, ikigai is a way of life.”

Because much of my coaching revolves around business and career goals, I think the western idea of ikigai resonates with a lot of people. But it's important to realize that your purpose may provide value other than monetary.

The Blue Flame concept allows that ikigai can absolutely be an orienting diagram for professional, career-oriented purposes. But it is also larger than that and is something that we carry from cradle to grave. We can harness it for a larger life at any stage.

Find out more about the Blue Flame Discovery Process here: https://www.edgbrio.com/the-blue-flame-discovery-process/

Let me know if you had any epiphanies as you do the exercise!

♥ Michele Jennae
Transformation happens at the EDG!