Why Having a Posture of Learning Matters So Much

I have something big on my heart this morning. A few nights ago, I found myself watching an episode of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares with my family, maybe the most infamous episode of all ~ Amy’s Baking Company. If you’re not familiar with the story, it’s a trainwreck where restaurant owners Amy and Sammy refuse all guidance, criticism, feedback, or help and find themselves in quite a predicament.

As soon as the first few minutes played, I couldn’t stop watching. I remembered the story from watching the episode years ago. But what I hadn’t remembered was how much Amy talked about that restaurant being her big dream, the dream of a lifetime, the one she was fighting for and didn’t want to let go of no matter how hard it was to keep going. It hit home. Hard.

She was a big dreamer. But while chasing her big dream, she found herself facing not just failure but ridicule, shame, and global embarrassment. It’s something all big dreamers think about and hope we never face.

So naturally, I started asking myself what it is that makes big dreams turn sour sometimes — what is it exactly that we need to watch out for if we don’t want to end up falling flat on our faces in a way that seems impossible to return from? And while I don’t know Amy’s entire story exactly, watching her on the screen reminded me of something critical for big dreamers ⤵

a posture of learning

I’m not sure where I first heard this term. A quick Google search on its origin seems to point to it coming from a religious author I’m not familiar with. However, while I’ve been using this term with myself, my kiddos, and even my clients for years, it’s never been in a religious way.

It just means approaching everything from a deep sense of knowing you don’t know everything and probably never will. It’s recognizing you can learn something from anything at any moment at least in some small way.

growing

It’s choosing a growth mindset instead of a fixed one.

starting over

It’s choosing lifelong learning instead of life as the expert.

evolving

It’s choosing personal evolution instead of refusing change.

A posture of learning is critical for those of us who have big dreams. It’s critical when we take baby steps toward those big dreams. It’s critical when those baby steps become something a little bigger and start impacting the people we love.

adjusting

The moment we think we know it all, the moment we think there’s nothing to learn, change, grow, or adjust, we’re in deep, deep trouble. Amy-level trouble if you ask me.

So today, in hopes of leaving your heart light, I offer these ⤵

#1

You’ve got it — You already have a posture of learning or you wouldn’t be reading this message, showing up in this email group week after week, or spending your free time diving into articles, books, and podcasts. That means you’ve got a head start. Celebrate that for a second.

#2

Failure isn’t terminal. Getting it wrong is something I have quite a bit of experience with and have written to you about before. A few examples — Five years ago, I failed my master’s thesis, found myself grateful for the experience, and made a pivot. Four years ago, I humiliated myself with racial insensitivity, found myself grateful for the lesson, and chose to change. Two years ago, I stopped denying my anxiety and had to rethink everything I thought I knew about wellness. I know I’ll make more mistakes in my lifetime. I hope I learn and change after those too.

#3

Many great women have grappled with this before us. Consider these words from two of my favorites ⤵

As always, I feel so honored, humbled, and grateful to be right here learning alongside you, friend. You’ve got this — and if you ever need to talk about anything, I’m just an email away.

Sending big hugs your way today,

Celeste

💛