the spiritual practice of trying something new
so it's ok if you feel awkward. it means you're doing it right.
God… it’s so hard starting something new.
a new job,
a new hobby,
a new activity…
but also a new way of thinking,
a new belief,
a new way of seeing yourself,
a new way of telling an old story,
a new way of being in the world,
a new hope.
Sometimes if can feel like everyone else has it together and you don’t. It may look like this on the outside, but everyone ever it learning as they go.
Have you ever seen someone learning to ice skate for the first time? And not just a child but a fully formed competent adult human being?
No one starts of ice skating like a pro. Most everyone starts off with petite self-conscious steps while holding the ice rink wall. Wide eyed concentration knowing at any moment their legs can shoot out from underneath them crashing their denim wearing behind onto the unforgiving ice floor. Nothing is more awkward and cringe worthy as watching a sophisticated homosapien, capable of putting its own species on the Moon, just mercilessly landing on their backside as they learn to ice skate. It’s a ubiquitous sight at the local ice rink because learning to ice skate is really hard. And it takes time.
And yet it’s so fun when you start to get the hang of it.
When you’re stuck in a comparative conversation, or feeling like you’re about to be discovered by everyone to be a complete fraud, just imagine the person you’re comparing yourself with - your hero, the expert in your field, someone you look up to, someone you hope to be like one day - learning to ice skate for the first time. Imagine them taking to the ice for the first time in their life. I guarantee you they won’t look awesome.
And that’s what’s happening to you… because you’re learning. And it feels vulnerable to try. And you don’t feel smooth and confident but kind of awkward and about to fall on your denim buttocks.
And that’s exactly how everyone feels who decides to try to grow.
Godspeed as you try something new.
What would you like to grow in?
This summer, I’m planning on learning to use a sewing machine. Easy, I know for some of you, but I’ve never learned. And I want to know! So I’m dedicated to learning something new.
The plan for our lives is that we would change (evolve, grow, however you want to call it). God’s plan for our lives is that we would change. The universe would be meaningless if this were not so. But the change will always begin in the unknowing.
So what don’t you know?
Where would you like to grow in?
Spiritual Practice:
Go on a long walk (more than 20 minutes) and ask “where would I like to grow in?”
See what comes up.
…
this is an excerpt from my book Say Yes: Discover the Surprising Life Beyond the Death of a Dream.
