We are all beginners.
Recently on the "Cat and Kaehler Show" (name change in January to "Forever Fierce featuring Catherine and Co"), the subject was Beginners and how we are all beginners. It was a lightening bolt moment for me. |
| Go to Link: Catherine Grace O and guest Susan Honey Good |
Did you think Harrison Ford knew how to use a bull whip before "Raiders of the Lost Ark"? Or did you think Tom Hanks came up with that accent in "Forrest Gump"? They did not.
The Art of Hollywood is make-believe. We want you to believe Indiana Jones is an expert with that whip. We want you to believe there is a real Forrest Gump. It's that susupension of disbelief in order to tell a story. And it works. Except not in real life, because it's not really true.
I can tell you, months before those cameras roll, the actors are learning how not to look like a beginner. And guess what, they are a beginner...you just don't see the behind-the-scenes flub-ups and bloopers, because...we have editors that make them look like pros.
When learning to drive a car, it's like, "Ahhh, which is the gas?! Which is the brake?! Oh God...a hill, what do I do? What do I do?!" Fear. Do you even think twice about it now? In fact, you probably answer the phone, put on make-up, and eat your breakfast...all the while not thinking twice about the gas and the brake! Fear removed. My point, and the point of the radio show, is everyone starts somewhere...it's the journey of a thousand miles beginning with a single step. It doesn't even need to be a big step, or even a small step, but maybe just a nudge in the direction you want to go. A nudge!!
Fear is what usually keeps us from taking the very first teeny-tiny eensy-weensy baby step. It's your Great Brain keeping you safe, insuring the survival of the human race. You see, it's your fear based brain that doesn't know we aren't primative man, living in a cave, with a hungry sabertooth tiger outside. That's scary. Fear=Safety. Our brains haven't changed that much in 11 million years!! Somewhere your brain got the idea that you can't do it, check...fear sets in, check...and we scratch off the list what we can't do, double check. Paralization. "You're Welcome!!" , says your Fear-Based Brain. But your Great Brain knows what you can and can not do because it sees other people doing it. Your primative Fear-Based Brain doesn't get it. This is where your two brains fight, causing stress and dis ease. That's right. Disease. Your immune system does not funtion well under stress.
"When in panic, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout." -Julie Iiams
Really. Yes, really. When you are in panic, stress, or fear, your brain can not think clearly. Can you think clearly when in that mindset? No. But can you remove the fear? Yes! Yes, you can. Did you just say no? If you say no, then your fear based brain shuts down. Where as your Great Brain knows the truth; That you can do the thing you think you can not do! And this is where your two brains fight, causing stress and dis ease...whatever the task at hand is (and you alone know that answer), because how in the world could such a thought pop into your Great Brain if it was not possible? How? That's the question you should be asking your great brain...How can I make this happen? Baby steps is how and realizing we are all beginners!! All of us!! (That first step feels good, doesn't it...less fearful?)
"To understand the game much, you must play the game much" -Goethe
Even asking the question, "How?", you are moving the brain forward. When you are driving the car, your Great Brain is asking "How?" When washing the dishes, your Great Brain is asking, "How?" When you are sleeping, your Great Brain is asking, "How?" By engaging your Great Brain, you are putting to work a powerful tool to help you figure out the "How?" Your Great Brain is a muscle, do you know that? When you flex a muscle, it gets stronger. When your Great Brain figures something out, it checks it off the list. Allow your Great Brain to work effortlessly for you! Let your Great Brain have something to chew on by asking the question "How?"
The body will fail before the brain. So, if your brain tells your body to get up and move, it obeys. Therefore, if you can go there in your mind...so will you go there in your body!! You will see, because the fear of the unknown is gone, your Great Brain has figured out a baby step...trust your Great Brain.
Especially, right before you go to sleep. Ask your Great Brain any question, even writing it down to be clear in your intent. Go to sleep and let the butter melt. Your Great Brain loves to figure things out...loves it...it's a form of survival. Soon the answer, the baby step, will come to you. Then you go with the next step...or the baby step...or the teeny-tiny eensy-weensy baby step...or the nudge from the Universe.
"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -Confucius
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Some people prefer to start at the tail...some people think it's best to start at the trunk...me...the big toe, I guess. The point is, you can do it one bite at a time.
 |
| Now I'm learning how to operate a drone. |
 |
| I'm a late bloomer. I hope this finds you well. -julie All photo credits are mine. |
