Gumption, Get Up and Go

Gumption is a word that acts like Captain James T. Kirk is often quoted saying, “…boldly go where no one has gone before.”

Gumption:

1 .Boldness of enterprise; initiative or aggressiveness.

2. Guts; spunk.

3. Common sense.

What a story Gumption creates. It has a place in my Word Hall of Fame. The mixture of initiative, risk and common sense is a recipe for a hero. This word is a noun, a person, place, or thing, but it feels more like a verb, an action, a way of being. 
I look for power words. Words to take on a quest, inspire an audience, and  save me on a rainy day when the SADS, the seasonally afflicted disorders, drizzle forth ‘stinking thinking’.

Who’s Got Gumption and where does it come from? 

How did they get it? 

How can I get some?

It comes from the same store that serves other Hall of Fame Words, like Attention, Belief, Conscience, Discipline, Effort, Feedback, down the G aisle along with Grace and Gratitude. A place where words are tools to build skills, balance our karma and transform words into action. 

All our heroes have Gumption. Parenting requires Gumption: the whole concept of birthing, caring, teaching, and patience of parenting require Gumption.

We build Gumption from taking risks. Risks are very individual. There are physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and business risks. One person risks a six-figure income to start his or her own business. Another takes a risk and leaves their comfort zone to teach others to take risks. Some risk their ‘likeability’ by knocking on a door, making cold calls, risking rejection. Some have risked physical safety by walking on fire, parachuting for fun and thrills. Taking on  challenges builds Gumption.

Life changes are risky business, and appreciating changes builds Gumption. 

Expressing yourself is a form of risk. This message, expressing my beliefs, is a form of risk. Each time I write I build my Gumption account.

Gumption is a power word, full of spunk and common sense that keeps attention free, creating heroes of us all. 

There may be a business teaching Gumption and passing out Free Risk cards. 

“Excuse me, I have something for you. This is a Free Risk card. The bearer of this card has all the Free Attention they need to handle any counter-productive behavior and unintentional  beliefs that may tell you that your risk is impossible. This is your Gumption card.”

On the back of the card is written:

            Risking Builds Gumption. Be Safe and Go for it!

Help (Attention/Insight)

Help ♪ I need somebody…something, some way out of here. 

Is, can you help me, the hardest question to ask?

Is this another reason to believe that The Beatles were divinely inspired because their first movie was called HELP?

One way I write Curing Seriousitis™ is to use the alphabet, searching out meaning, and words with a charge. My criteria are what motivates me toward a word like G for gumption, or  words I move away from, like H for help. “I mean I don’t need any HELP; I can do it myself.” There is a charge in asking for help, so H is in my New ABC’s.

I have some counterproductive beliefs around asking for help. Beliefs I don’t want my grandchildren to catch. If they do maybe they will catch them and use the opportunity, as my wise fisherman son practices, to HELP with “Catch and Release.”

Here are my questionable beliefs about HELP:

The ego believes it has to be right, so there is no space to ask for HELP. 

Only weaklings ask for HELP. The Fonz or John Wayne never asked for HELP.

If you ask someone for HELP you have to listen and do what they tell you. I don’t want anyone to tell me what to do!

If I ask for HELP, then people will know I am not invincible.

HELP is humbling, a more graceful H word. I could have chosen humbling to let me off this helpless treadmill and not explore my own helpless beliefs.

Think of all the excuses and blame I’d have to give up if I asked for HELP.

Being an adult, especially an elder, means never having to ask for HELP.

That’s a bunch of indoctrinated self-defeating beliefs that keeps my attention stuck, outcomes limited, leaving me to continue to create from trial and error. Lots of errors or worse, lots of giving up, and not getting what I want. 

I want your HELP. Business is going well. It’s important to know I have time for you, your friends, and family members, to HELP those with public speaking fear, handle their fear. To HELP create entertaining content, connect with their audience creating clients and sales.

For the grandchildren of the world, learn and remember to ask for HELP. It is as easy as pushing the F1 key on a PC. You deserve to ask and be helped.