Did you see Julie and Julia ?

I enjoyed so many things about that movie, but mostly, I like the true-life success stories of Julia Child and Julie Powell .

Their triumphs were all the more remarkable because each woman started at the bottom of the field where she found her fame.

Julia Child took cooking classes, collaborated on a book, and the rest was culinary, broadcast, and cultural history.  Julie Powell decided to cook every recipe in Child’s classic tome Mastering the Art of French Cooking  in one year and blog about it. The rest is publishing and movie history, as the blog became a book and the book became a movie starring Meryl Streep.

These were life-altering miracles, made possible because the women were willing to try something new and they were willing to fail. They were willing to feel incompetent.

Once upon a time, a professional athlete asked me to teach him the basics of calligraphy  so he could practice while he was away at training. He told me he used training time every year to learn something new. I thought it was such a good idea that I was inspired – the next time I took a solo vacation, I taught myself to juggle  while I was gone.

I’m avoiding commitments this year, but I’m open to the possibility of learning a new skill or gaining knowledge in another field.  In my usual life, it would feel too frivolous and wasteful to take up something unrelated to my vocation.  But during a sabbatical? It’s what’s expected!

So – I’m going to keep my eyes open for opportunities to do something completely different, even if (especially if?) I’ll be incompetent at the beginning. What have you always wanted to learn or attempt? Is there a baby step or a one-time-only experience you could schedule?

Why wait?

I was trapped in the notion that what I “did” was my justification for taking up space on the planet. I was defending my life. (If you haven’t seen the great Albert Brooks – Meryl Streep movie “Defending Your Life,”  please do. It’s required viewing in Coach Ruth Ann’s Cinemacademy Of Life.)

If you Google me, you’ll see that I’m still “doing” in this world, but if you ask me what I do, I’m most likely to answer “I’m enjoying my life.” It took years, but I learned how to let that be enough. I no longer struggle to prove my worth, explain why I deserve to be here, or account for what I do with the hours of my day.

The wise Marielen recently introduced me to the Daily Quote from Abraham-Hicks publications (http://www.abraham-hicks.com), and I just read one that might change the map of your world.

In essence, it says that people used to think the earth was flat, not because their thinking was distorted, but because that was the conclusion based on the data they had collected. They were not able to step back far enough to get the big picture, to see the earth as it was, in perspective. (M. Scott Peck said something similar in The Road Less Traveled.)

Many of my coaching clients are clinging to a belief, a habit, a way of being that is based on the data they have collected so far in their lives. I used to think it was necessary to explain “what I do,” because the data I had collected led me to believe that I needed others to think I was “worthy,” which the data had told me was essential to my survival on the planet. (Starting with, “My parents will kill me if I don’t get good grades.”)

One of my clients is struggling to believe that there is such a thing as a rewarding love relationship, because the data collected so far has led to the conclusion that partners are untrustworthy, unsatisfying, and eventually, disappointing.  THE EARTH IS FLAT. My experience has given me different data, and I know that while no partnership is without some disappointments, it is indeed possible for joy to be the norm.

Whenever you find yourself trapped in a limiting belief, you might want to check your map. It’s possible that the data you’ve collected so far is telling you the earth is flat, when in truth, you need to step back and get a more accurate picture.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to continue enjoying my life.