• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Sara Alvarado: Keynote Speaker | Teacher | Writer
Sara Alvarado
  • Home
  • Memoir
  • Speaking
  • Free Resources
  • Real Estate
  • About
    • Blog
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
Blog

I did a handstand and then I threw away my 10 year plan

May 23, 2014/in Vulnerable & Vibrant/by Sara Alvarado

This morning I had an encounter with a random guy at the gym and within an hour I had turned it into a reflection in my life. As my Mom would say, “of course you did honey.” Here’s how that rolled out.

I had just finished my workout and I decided to try a couple of handstands by the back wall. Not a headstand…a handstand. I usually bop up into one and then fall back down. Not the kind of fall where I hurt myself. You know, you go into a handstand and come right back down. At the gym I use the wall so I can go into the handstand and since I can’t stay up, I tip back into the wall and keep trying for a bit before I get tired. I have fun trying.

So this morning after a couple of times playing around with handstands this young (and yes he was super cute) guy comments, “Great form, you almost got it.”

Standing up I replied, “Really? Are you a gymnast?”

He said yes, so I asked him if there was something I could do differently to improve. His recommendation was that I keep my feet together. I tried his suggestion and after 3 attempts I was able to stay up for a bit with my feet tightly together.

It was AWESOME! He congratulated me and I was all giddy and excited for the rest of the day. What was an uneventful morning at the gym turned into learning something new and tasting success.

This is how I saw the reflections in my own life…

  • Be Brave -Be willing to look ‘stupid’.
  • Open up to help from others – I don’t have to do it all by myself.
  • Embrace the Unknown – Quit trying to figure it all out.

If I would have been too embarrassed to try my pathetic  handstand in public I would never have encountered someone willing to help me. I actually didn’t even know I was missing a piece of crucial advice. I thought I just needed to practice more. By asking someone with experience I was able to get from point A (not being able to stay in the handstand) to point B (awesome 10 second handstand). Amazing feeling!

If I want different results it doesn’t make sense to just keep doing the same thing and hope it works out. This is why I love coaching. I sometimes don’t even know what I don’t know and wouldn’t have thought to ask. Which is what happened this morning. I didn’t know there was a little secret…and now I have a shot at mastering a handstand (relatively speaking). When I stay open to trying new things and let go of my stupid fear and just let shit happen without trying to orchestrate it I grow so much. And I get to laugh at how easy it is.

This morning I was reminded not to be scared of looking bad, of asking dumb questions or even of falling down in front of others – literally. I can actually benefit from falling down in front of others and if I don’t let shame take over because I put myself in the position to learn and grow. If I would have felt embarrassed that this guy was watching my lame attempt at a handstand this might have happened instead:

“Great form, you almost got it.”
Embarrassed giggle, “oh thanks” head down, face blushing red. I feel stupid, embarrassed and ashamed that someone was watching.
Gymnast guy walks away and I continue to bop up and fall right back down and I never experience that awesome feeling of staying up in a handstand for a full 10 seconds!

Perhaps this is why confident people with a good dose of self-esteem succeed. Not because they have earned their confidence and are finally good at whatever…but because they are good at not being good at what they are doing. I would consider myself a fairly confident person with a healthy amount of self-esteem (thank you Mom). I am in a place in my life that appears stable, strong and worthy of all the confidence that I radiate. But that’s not what I experience all the time.

My world seems scary to me sometimes. I have big dreams. I feel a burning desire inside to trust the Universe in a way that doesn’t fit with the 10 year plan my Dad wants me to lay out for him. Not that he expects that (although we all know he would love it), but that is a reasonable thing to have – a 10 year plan – especially as a business woman that loves to plan. And I’ve always had one. But the whisper that is getting louder and louder says to drop the agenda, quit trying to figure it all out and just BE. Let go of the expectations, the ‘shoulds’, and be open to what will happen in those little moments when you meet a stranger and a door opens.

So today I threw away my 10 year plan. (slightly hyperventilating).

I am in love with what my life is today. Even when it feels scary to me. And the reality is, I don’t think I would have planned for my life to be as awesome as it has become. If I try and plan for 10 years from now I might shortchange myself or be so focused on what I think I want that I might miss an opportunity for where I can best serve. I am going to let go of the fears that appear as obstacles, I’m going to embrace the unknown.

I know that I’m going to fall down, look stupid and make mistakes because I’m going to try new things. Thankfully I am getting better at how that works as I get older. I will come up with new ideas and goals to pursue. If I want to do something, I’m going to do it – go after it with all that passion I have. If I change my mind (because my heart says so), I’m going to change my mind. I’m going to stay open and in alignment with my inner Sara. She is so reliable and is always there for me.

And hopefully I’ll continue doing handstands.

sara's awesome handstand

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Share on Vk
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://saraalvarado.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/sara-handstand-scaled.jpg 2280 2560 Sara Alvarado /wp-content/uploads/2015/11/SaraAlvaradoLogo.jpg Sara Alvarado2014-05-23 14:43:122015-02-05 05:05:29I did a handstand and then I threw away my 10 year plan
2 replies
  1. Allison Crow
    Allison Crow says:
    May 23, 2014 at 3:15 pm

    Badassery.

    Reply
  2. Erin
    Erin says:
    May 23, 2014 at 11:48 pm

    Love it 😀

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up to my newsletter!

Categories

  • Authentic Leadership (10)
  • Favorites (6)
  • Race, Roles & Rawness (45)
  • Uncategorized (7)
  • Vulnerable & Vibrant (56)

Archives

Connect

     

Contact

sara@saraalvarado.com

608.438.5005

© 2020 Sara Alvarado | All rights reserved. | Website Design by Bizzy Bizzy
My Journey Through Trauma with Fear, Tears and GratitudePracticing Self Confidence by Teaching It!
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn more×

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Other cookies

The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:

Accept settingsHide notification only
Join my email list

 

Sign up for new blog posts and love sparkles!

When you sign up, you’ll receive a free gift,
a Guide for Change Agents, delivered to your inbox.

Sign up for the Conversation Challenge

Join the Conversation Challege

Subscribe here

    We won’t send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

    Powered By ConvertKit

    Powered By ConvertKit