"Shower Uppers"

As a life coach part of my mission is to help my clients "show up" big in the world - to show up as big as they really are, even if they have forgotten for the moment, or have not believed in their own ability to do so up until now.

Good intentions alone are not enough. Actions alone are not enough either, when unaccompanied by a compelling purpose - the "why bother" part of things. When you put those two things together then you have created something powerful. For example, I intend to complete Ironman Wisconsin 2009 within the cut-off time. I know the "why bother" part of the action follow-through. That compelling purpose and clarity bring the intention and actions together to create my desired outcome.

Laura Whitworth was one of the co-founders of the Coaches Training Institute. She died last February after a two year battle with lung cancer. I only met Laura one time - at a regional coaching conference. Even then, I didn't actually meet her one on one. I was in the audience as she gave a keynote speech. I was immediately struck by her powerful presence and the impact she created in the room.

Laura kept a blog during the course of her illness. Sometimes her postings were about her illness and the treatments she was going through. Always her postings were about challenging those of us who were reading to live intentional, powerful and impactful lives. The following excerpt is taken from a posting Laura made in her blog a little over a year ago:

"As it turns out I have my own certain sense of what the term ‘show up’ means. Surprise. (-; My definition of what it is to ‘show up’, may differ from yours, so I want to warn you ahead of time that I am going to speak emphatically and decisively about ‘showing up.’ I’m going to borrow from others, and I am going to push for us to align around the importance of distinguishing this concept. Please stand by your definition of what it is to ‘show up’ and take in my input as food for thought. To ‘show up’ means to ACT. To ‘show up’ is a verb, it is an action verb, it requires intention and an act of WILL. ‘Showing up’ is Action. Not thinking about, wishing, hoping, accidents, pretending, or talking about. To ‘show up’ is visible. It can be seen in the world by others. By you. If you should even pause to look, cause most often you don’t. You are already moving. To ‘show up’ is something we choose. AND it is a way of life. We choose to ‘show up’ for this or that, and we choose to ‘not show up’ for that and those. And still, there is in each of us a ‘shower upper.’ Some of us show up a lot. Some of us a little. Some hardly at all. And some of us don’t have the distinction, to ‘show up,’ so are unable to access the power when we are and when we are not ‘showing up.’

...Now here is something very important to say here -- there is NO requirement that one has to ‘show up.’ There is no HAVE to. As a matter of fact if we think we HAVE to ‘show up’ at anytime or anywhere, then we have lost what it is to ‘show up.’ Try this on: One piece of evidence of someone who ‘shows up’ comes when that someone says (or acts) “no, I will not be ‘showing up’ for xxx.?” “I will ‘show up’ for yyyy.” Or, “I’ll let you know what I will show up for when I am clear about that myself.”

Because to ‘show up’ is a stand, a stake, it is the intention that you couple with the act of will. Both the intention and the action are required to ‘show up.’ And we cannot authentically choose to ‘show up’ for everything. As a matter of fact, if we try to ‘show up’ for everything then maybe we are simply trying to be pleasers instead of people who have chosen to ‘show up’ in life." (End of excerpt)

I love the distinction Laura makes about choice. We can choose to show up or to not show up. When the "not showing up" for something is intentional, that choice in and of itself is actually showing up authentically as we want to be.

Laura gives us a way to measure whether or not we are showing up. For the data lovers among us, she provides a method of measurement. Is it visible - can our "showing up" be seen by others? Is it observable by the world?

It reminds me a little of the Henry David Thoreau quote:

"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." ~ Henry David Thoreau

Start with the castles in the sky part. What's your intention? Imagine your dreams, from the smallest of dreams to the really big dream... What's the bold adventure?

Then start the building process, the action part, so that your dream is not just a mirage, only seen by you, but not by others. Begin with a blueprint and then one action step at a time, brick by brick bring your vision into reality.

Welcome to the world of "shower uppers".

If you would like to read more of Laura Whitworth's writing, you can find it at:

http://laurawhitworth.blogspot.com/