Why Not Both? You Can Have Both Chicken and Waffles
I was unsure if they would go together, and to be honest, I still have doubts.” And she said back to me, “we have a saying in Spanish -por qué no los dos - why not both?” and I immediately felt relief set in throughout my whole body because I knew this to be true.
Yesterday I was on a call sharing my new creation for Inward Athlete when a sneaky subconscious belief snuck into my conscious mind and flew out of my mouth. I said, “it took me a lot of time to figure out how I was going to teach through the art of my authentic expression and combine it with my world of athletics - I was unsure if they would go together, and to be honest, I still have doubts.” And she said back to me, “we have a saying in Spanish -por qué no los dos - why not both?” and I immediately felt relief set in throughout my whole body because I knew this to be true.
When my creativity first began to come online and my poetry started pouring out of me, I thought I had to choose between my love for writing over my passion for teaching and supporting athletes. My beliefs were stuck for so long in having to choose one over the other that it has taken me months of integration, open space on my travels, and daily prayer to find enough clarity to allow a new perspective to come through. And that newfound clarity was “why not both?”
And then I thought of some of the GOATS and the first one who came to mind was Kobe Bryant. An athlete himself, Kobe was also a businessman, philanthropist, storyteller, creative, published author, recording artist, musician, and so much more. He allowed all of his gifts to co-exist and that made him flourish both on and off the basketball court. And if he stayed only in one lane, he wouldn’t have created all of the beautiful things he did.
I used to teach a class called Sport Sociology and I would teach a term to students, “sport is a microcosm of our society”. I actually have a slide (see below) I used in class after his tragic death as a teaching moment for how Kobe Bryant was an example in and of himself as a microcosm of society. Kobe to me, is a symbol of a multidimensional being who never pigeon-holed himself to be great in just one area of his life - and in that paradox, is what made him great in many areas. He let the divine stream through him to be used as a vessel to create greatness both on and off the court. And I truly believe him channeling greatness into many areas of his life is what made him the GOAT as an athlete.
So, it got me thinking, what if there was a way to let it all exist? Even though my logical mind says, “these two things don’t go together.” I’m sure the person who first combined chicken and waffles, pickles on pizza (thank you Kristina), Wendy’s frosty and fries (thank you Marie), and rice noodles and pesto (thank you Leigh) for the first time were shocked when the combination of flavors bursted in their mouths with goodness.
Last summer I read Emmanuel Acho’s book Illogical. And one of the major takeaways I had from reading it was that when you are living in alignment with your truth and not letting your worth, value, or success be determined by conventional wisdom and societal standards you will most likely feel like you are being illogical. This book was the permission slip I had been waiting for to not let my life make sense to anyone else but myself. And that is why my story has been inspiring others along the way.
And with each step along this path of leaving academia, becoming a self-published author of poetry, and beginning my business Inward Athlete I have defied logic many times. And honestly, this is some of the fuel that keeps me going. Can I continue to lean into my own illogical truth and let it set my path ablaze? I guess the jury is still out on if the external accolades of success will come along with me continuing to lean into my passions and purpose in new ways, but I am willing to find out just how far illogical thinking will take me. Because so far it has brought me resounding peace, joy, presence, and intrinsic motivation to keep going.
What would you create if you could combine all of your passions into a beautiful gift for the world?
This week’s post is dedicated to all of the ones who are willing to believe, “why not both?” And if you are looking for support on that journey, learn more here for about how I can support you 1:1 or in my group community over on my Patreon.