Why is it called ‘The Churning’?

People often ask me why this book is called “The Churning”. I tell them there are three reasons.

The first is the churning that is happening all around us in the world: the changes that are happening in politics, the economy, society, technology, and of course in the environment. Together these have created a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world. This is the outer, physical churning we face.

The second type of churning is the inner, emotional churning we can experience as a result of all these changes: the feelings of uncertainty, loss, anxiety, and even fear that naturally arise when so much change is happening all at once — which can make us feel churned about like a sock in a washing machine. This is our inner, emotional churning.

And the third kind of churning is the type of churning that turns cream into butter, the churning that can make us stronger and more valued. Because the fact is that change is nothing new — change has always been with us. The only difference now is that the amount and rate of change are higher than we have known before. But with the right tools and techniques we can learn to use these changes as opportunities to become clearer about what matters most to us and more able to achieve that.

In other words, if we want to, we can use this time of change to ‘churn’ ourselves…