Gumption
n. shrewd or spirited initiative
In the spirit of “walking the walk,” I’m here in a coffee shop making good on the short-lived motivation I found from the recent viewing of “The Holiday.” With one dead Air pod and a child screaming in the background, I’m writing as my form of taking a step to the side and charting a new path for myself. Hopefully simultaneously striking the match of inspiration for someone else to embody the same gumption.
With Christmas just around the corner, it felt most suiting to kick off this blog with some holiday inspiration, more specifically the movie “The Holiday.” I, like most, tend to get a whirlwind of short lived motivation after certain movies or events, this time being after my all-time holiday favorite featuring the dazzling Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. In the film, both of the professionally accomplished and established women reach a breaking point in their romantic lives and decide to change course with the simple decision to step outside of their comfort zone and allow themselves to authentically connect with the people on this newly trudged path.
Booking the travel was portrayed as the main decision that acted as their pivot moment, but as each embark on their trips they take advantage of the small yet significant opportunities to lean into a new life. One significant opportunity for both women was befriending and trusting strangers who not only helped to expand their current state of thinking, but act as mirrors so these women could see their own authentic, powerful, and valuable self.
These notions beg us to pause to ask the following questions about our own lives:
- Are we on the path we want to be on, or are we at a point to create our own pivot moment?
- If we are on the path we want to be on, what opportunities can we find to enrich our lives and those around us to grow on this path?
- Who around us could we connect with further to learn from?
- Have we given ourselves permission to be our most authentic self? Are we acting as our most authentic self?
- If we are not being our most authentic self, why do we feel we need to hide?
In the movie, Eli Wallach described gumption as the key ingredient to becoming the “leading lady” in your own life. Gumption has taken on many varied definitions, but I envision it as initiative and audacity to act and live authentically. Taking these leaps of faith simply encompasses having the audacity to take a step out of the line that you’ve been walking to start a new path for yourself.
While we can’t all book a holiday and causally have Jude Law wind up on our doorstep *sigh* we can take note of the miraculous things that come from taking advantage of those leaps of faith and opportunities to connect genuinely with those we come in contact with.