I've been ‘Big Magicked’!

My Superhero Pose blog was going to be very different…I originally wrote it on April 21 and was going to post it after I had my hair done on May 15. I had the visual all planned out, arms out, hair perfect, eyes blazing confidently into my new future. Truly being my own superhero.

Then I was at my hair appointment and mentioned my blog post to my hairdresser, Candis, and how I wanted her to take a picture of me to include with my post. She said,  “Oh, did you write your blog based on the video that Danielle LaPorte posted today?” I was stunned and had to go look it up. Sure enough, there is a now viral video about a teacher who encouraged her students to stand in a superhero pose before they write an exam.

The next day I told my friend, Jody, about the blog. She is my first reviewer and editor of most things I post, and she had worked on my original post back in April.  “You’ve been ‘Big Magicked’!” she said, and then went on to remind me of a theory Elizabeth Gilbert puts forward in her book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. Gilbert says:

“When an idea thinks it has found somebody – say, you – who might be able to bring it into the world, the idea will pay you a visit. It will try to get your attention. Mostly, you will not notice. This is likely because you’re so consumed by your own dramas, anxieties, distractions, insecurities, and duties that you aren’t receptive to inspiration.

You might miss the signal because you’re watching TV, or shopping, or brooding over how angry you are at somebody, or pondering your failures and mistakes, or just generally really busy. The idea will try to wave you down (perhaps for a few moments; perhaps for a few months; perhaps even for a few years), but when it finally realises that you’re oblivious to its message, it will move on to someone else.”

So, there you have it, I missed the idea for my post today because I waited to have nice hair for the blog shot…Good thing it wasn’t a brilliant idea for a novel.

Just in case you interested, here is my original blog.

I always get nervous before I facilitate large groups. Because I have done this regularly as part of my work for the past 20 years, I needed strategies to help calm my nerves and boost my confidence. As a die-hard Greys Anatomy fan, I would adopt the same superhero pose (in private) that the surgeons would strike before they embarked on a major surgery: hands on hips, chest proud, eyes ahead. I would tell myself “You got this, Jocelin” and then walk into the room ready to take it on.

As a believer in meaningful work, and as a career coach who has spent years supporting others in making meaningful career decisions, I couldn’t ignore that this new position was not working. So, I decided that I must move on. That job in that company will be a perfect fit for someone – it was not for me.

Once I acknowledged this truth, I needed to act on it. Cue superhero pose. Here I am, facing my unknown professional future, a bundle of nervous energy, but grounded in being my own superhero. I am looking up and ahead, ready to re-imagine my work as being something that fits again.

The Takeaway: More important now than the superhero pose: I have been big magicked once – it won’t happen again.