My good friend Anna wrote today’s post. She usually writes about imaginary people and scenarios she makes up in her head and not as much about her butt as she does here. Lucky us.
Before I sat down to write this blog post I had to ask myself the question “What is self-leadership?”
When Michele initially presented me with the concept I thought I knew what it was, but then I couldn’t put together a working definition. So, I did what I always do when I can’t find a working definition. Google. I found several definitions but the one I liked best was this one: “Self-leadership is an enabling process whereby a person learns to know him/herself better and through this better self-understanding is able to steer his/her life better.”
The first thing that pops out to me in this definition is the word “process.”
Self-leadership is a process.
It is not something we just arrive at. It is not self-actualization. It is not an end. It is a means. Now, this concept really works for me. I don’t know about you, but I really like the process of things. I like the middle of the book better than the end. I like painting my nails more than I like having well manicured hands. I like being a student more than I like having a degree. I far more enjoy being in something than beginning or ending it.
But all processes have to end somewhere and this is a good thing. In the process of self-leadership we’re going to end at a better understanding of ourselves and have the ability to navigate through life more effectively. That’s a great thing. However, in order to arrive at this ending we have to begin this process (yikes!).
I try to practice yoga three times a week. The yoga classes I attend are a great workout. I build strength, flexibility and work up a pretty good sweat. Last week one of my teachers talked about listening to our bodies. Actually, she talks about this quite a bit. But last week she said something that really struck me. She said, “Let’s start today by thinking about what’s on the ground. Focus your energy on the part of your body that’s on the ground. What’s on the ground right now?” Well, at the time I was seated, so I thought my butt, my butt is on the ground. Sure, that was probably a juvenile response, but it was true. I didn’t say it out loud. The teacher went on, she asked us to bend forward and think about how our sensations and focus changed. Before this I was perfectly comfortable sitting cross-legged with my butt on the ground. Then I bent forward. This was not so comfortable. I still had to keep my butt on the ground, but now I had my forehead also nearly on the ground. My hips were full of tension and pain. I was uncomfortable. I was feeling the burn in a big way. This was the beginning of my yoga process. It hurt, but it also made me think.
For the remainder of the class the teacher kept saying “get grounded.” In saying this she was referring to the first step of the process, thinking about what was on the ground. This is a great yoga practice, scanning your body from the ground up and understanding how it works, where you feel tension, where you feel pain, where the stretch is, where to focus your breath. It’s also a great life practice.
What would happen if we got grounded inside?
What if we got to the ground of our minds, of our souls? What if we, metaphorically, sat down on the floor with the baseline of our reality and really stretched ourselves?
I regularly read Sugar’s advice column in the Rumpus. In a recent posting, she wrote, “We get the work done on the ground level. And the kindest thing I can do for you is to tell you to get your ass on the floor.” I couldn’t agree more.
To me, being grounded means humility. We have to humble ourselves before we start anything. Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Everest said “You can never conquer the mountain. You can only conquer yourself.”
What he’s referring to here, I think, is the process of self-leadership. Jim Whittaker knew a thing or two about beginning processes, both in himself and in his sport. Really, the process of self-leadership and climbing a mountain are not so entirely different, and the first thing they have in common is a base. You cannot start climbing a mountain at the tree line. Mountaineers have to start from the bottom, and so do we.
Humbling yourself is step number one in self-leadership. It’s the beginning. It’s the part where I say that I am not the center of the universe. That I am not always right. I am not perfect. My hips are tight and they need a really good stretching. In order to start the stretching process I have to get on the floor, think about my butt and bend forward.
Are you with me?
Anna Jordan lives in Summerland, California. She is currently working towards an MFA in Fiction Writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She likes coffee and yoga, although not simultaneously. For further ramblings by Anna, please visit her blog www.annajordan-onlife.blogspot.com.