Full of myself? Nope. I’m just Trusting My Genius.
At the end of a recent session with brilliant business coach Heidi Holvoet, I asked her if she had any final advice for me. The three words she offered me rocked my world.
‘Trust your genius, Debbie.’
The words reverberated through my body for a long time after our call. Was I really a genius? Did I have genius in me? Was it arrogant to even think that?
I’m British, so modesty comes with the territory.
One of the worst things someone could say to me - and to many of my clients who are modest almost to a fault - is, ‘You’re so full of yourself.’
And yet… Heidi’s invitation to trust my genius felt right-sized.
Like an expansion into my full potential.
I actually experienced the physical sensation of being filled up with myself.
And I liked it.
The experience brought on a flash of memory.
I had had this specific feeling before the day I was given my Myanmar name by a monk in Inle Province in 2012.
Based on my birthdate and Burmese star sign, after some deliberation I was pronounced…
…Ma Ee Ee Khain.
Which roughly translates as,
Ms Gentle Gentle Strong.
I remembered having a similar feeling of, ‘Really? Is that me?’
And at the same time, a deeper knowing. A rising sense that this was exactly me - or rather, what I aspire to bring to the world.
This is exactly who I am, and who I want to be.
And of course, this is the invitation I make to my clients all the time.
My genius, if I trust it, is to enable people to…
…Use their strengths and convictions to power their leadership.
…Deal skilfully with their Inner Critic and Impostor Syndrome.
…Stand confidently in the knowledge of who they are and what they are about.
And time and again, my clients experience greater alignment, balance and courage, in their work and in their lives.
Which leads me to ask,
What possibilities will be unlived if I don’t trust my genius?
What opportunities will go untapped if you don’t trust yours?
So I invite you into this possiblility too.
Here is a poem that Heidi’s words inspired in me, drawing on my experience in Myanmar.
I wonder how your idea of being ‘Full of Yourself’ might shift after this…
Becoming Ma Ee Ee Khain - receiving my Myanmar name in 2012
Full of Myself
I
‘You seem uncertain,’
She turned her head with a smile as if to see through me
Scanning smoky quartz with shining gaze.
It seems to me, you have everything you need and more.’
My only advice to you is,
‘Trust Your Genius.’
Trust.
Your.
Genius.
Something in me yawns open
Like a morning stretch.
From air to solid ground.
‘Here I am.’
Trust.
Your.
Genius.
A great whale rises through my belly, chest, throat,
Expanding at the call of her name.
Displacing all doubt.
Trust.
Your.
Genius.
The parts of me that know
Who I Really Am,
Gentle rebel,
Courageous truth-teller,
Relentless learner,
Remember themselves.
They begin to click and whirr to life
Like a golden clockwork sun.
I thank her
though her gift is barely unwrapped.
My skin feels warm.
II
That night
I say her words again and again.
Trust
Your
Genius.
Barefoot and cross-legged
I see the monk’s creased face
The great Buddha sleeping over his shoulder
As he pronounces my new name.
‘You are Ma Ee Ee Khain.
Ms Gentle Gentle Strong.’
The knowing smile and nod of my oldest friend
Affirming my name’s fit
And the journey I must take to unfold into it.
A lifetime of balancing two Gentles and a Strong.
How shall I trust this today?
Trust
Your
Genius.
With each word
I am a stout ceramic cup
Filled from feet to crown.
No more air bubbles.
Just rich hot essence of me.
Full of myself?
Yes, I am.
My mission requires nothing less.
—-
Is it your time to flourish?
Are you ready to leave doubt and false modesty behind?
Are you ready to put your best foot forward, with greater confidence, courage and flow?
