Maybe I Can with Debbie Weiss

Ep. 106: A Sprinkle of Curiosity

• Debbie Weiss

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In this episode, Debbie explores the transformative power of curiosity and how shifting her mindset from "I can't" to "Maybe I can" opened her up to new experiences and perspectives. She shares her journey of overcoming self-doubt to embrace practices like yoga, meditation, and sound healing, finding unexpected joy and growth along the way. Through trying new modalities and exploring wellness practices, Debbie discovered how curiosity not only enriches life but also helps break free from limiting beliefs. She encourages listeners to take small steps toward exploring the unfamiliar, unlocking a more vibrant and fulfilling life.



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Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to Maybe I Can, exploring possibilities, one sprinkle at a time. If you've ever found yourself asking is this all there is to life, then you're in the right place. I'm Debbie author, speaker, entrepreneur and coach, and every Tuesday, I'm here to share a sprinkle of hope and inspiration. Together, we'll uncover the more More joy, more fulfillment, more prosperity, more fun. We'll share stories of transformation, actionable tips and that little nudge you need to take the next step. So let's embark on this journey of discovery and say maybe I can to a life filled with more, ready to find out. Let's get started. The Maybe I Can Show starts now.

Speaker 1:

Hi everyone, and welcome to the Maybe I Can Podcast. I'm your host, debbie Weiss, and I'm so happy that you are joining me today. If I'm being honest, I was supposed to have a wonderful guest on today and unfortunately she was feeling under the weather, so I learned a couple of hours ago that she wouldn't be joining me. So I've decided that I'm the guest today, and the title of this episode is called A Sprinkle of Curiosity. So I figured that I'd start with asking myself the same question that I ask all my guests, which is tell me about a time when you went from a defeated I can't attitude to an empowered. Maybe I can mindset, and I've shared countless stories with you, but I decided I'm going to share one that I don't think I have and I don't know. You're not going to be able to really get a picture of this in your head for a variety of reasons, but I'm going to try and articulate it as best that I can to make you kind of get it.

Speaker 1:

So my girlfriends and I have gone on girls trips since I turned 50. So I'm 61. So let's say we've gone on 11 trips. I'd say maybe it was, it was probably in 2019. We went to oh gosh, well, I guess it doesn't oh yeah Turks and Caicos. And on all these trips, the majority of them were to somewhere tropical, because we love beaches and you know I'm not an adventuresome girl, I'm not a sporty girl.

Speaker 1:

I love sports and playing sports, but not like what I would consider adventure sports or water sports. I don't really like snorkeling. I've never tried or never had any interest in scuba diving or just all those other water sports where, quite frankly, your body is out of the water, because I've always had an issue with my weight. I'm also really bottom heavy, so it's always whatever I can do. To hide from the waist down is always kind of a juggling act between a towel, a cover-up, whatever. So my worst nightmare would be to have to be, in a bathing suit, standing on a board watching everyone basically make a fool of myself.

Speaker 1:

But secretly, I was always curious about paddleboarding. It just looked like such a lovely experience to be able to be standing up there and looking down at the water and slowly paddling along. And I thought I wonder, you know, I can't do that. And even the fact put aside that I didn't want to be standing out of the water on my, you know, with my bathing suit, my body showing it was more than that it was. Could I balance, was I capable? Could I get from my knees to standing and not fall over? That in itself seemed like quite a trick, and I would tell myself on every single beach vacation I can't, I can't, I can't.

Speaker 1:

And for some reason in that trip I needed to try. And I think what made me try is we went to this little small like cove of a beach. There weren't a lot of people, it just seemed safer and they were renting them, and so I actually thought, all right, let me try it on my knees. And I was able to get on with someone holding the board, so I didn't really have to balance. And so I'm kneeling and I start paddling.

Speaker 1:

And I start paddling and I'm like, okay, this is okay, but I don't see how I could possibly go from here to standing, for a variety of reasons, and I thought that's all right, just do it on your knees, there's nothing wrong with that. You've never done it before. However, I never thought to realize I don't know how to paddle. Now I know how to put paddle in the water and, you know, swoosh the water behind me, but I don't know how to turn. I'm, I have, I'm, I'm directionally challenged. That's not really true, I'm, I just challenged with, with those kinds of understanding of while you move the paddle this way and it may will make the water go that way, and so then you'll turn this way, like I have nothing like that. And so I start paddling and my friends are watching me from the shore and they're like, oh, look, she's doing it. Are watching me from the shore and they're like, oh, look, she's doing it, she's doing it.

Speaker 1:

Well, the next thing, you know, I am like out to sea, because even I can't figure out how to turn around and every time I kind of like, do maybe a 180 turn but never get all the way turned around. And then somehow either the current or would turn me back and, long story short, someone in a jet ski. They had to get the rental guy who had a hop on a jet ski jet out there to get me and it was quite a scene me getting from the board onto this jet ski without falling in the water. Somehow I did. He got me and the board back and you know now we had something to laugh at.

Speaker 1:

But later on that day or the next day we went back to our resort and it was still bothering me, I think my friend then gave me like a little tutorial on how to actually be able to steer and paddle so that I could turn around. And there I tried again, got another board stood up on it this time but I started from standing. So I never attempted going from on my knees to standing while I was on the water. So they held the board. I stood up, I went, I did it, I went pretty far. I didn't fall down. I was able to go out straight, make a left, head down the beach, make another left and come back to shore. Of course then I had no idea how heavy that darn paddleboard was and I was dragging the thing. I could barely do it. Someone had to come out on the beach and help me.

Speaker 1:

But anyway, boy, that was a long story to say. You know how sometimes you just have like you don't want to admit to yourself or to others that you really do want to try something. And you don't want to admit it because then you might be forced to try it and really put yourself out there. And it took me years, years to be able to say let me give this a try. And even though I wouldn't say I was 100% successful, I learned something about myself. And afterwards I have to say that I was pretty darn proud. Even though I didn't know how to paddle, even though I didn't go from my knees standing, you know what I stayed on the darn thing. I never fell in the water, whether I was standing or I was kneeling. That in itself, I feel, was an accomplishment, but the biggest success was that I did it. I gave it a try because I had been curious for so long. And now I know and I feel more empowered because I gave it a try. And that brings me into the topic of today, which is a sprinkle of curiosity, because I've learned that being curious can literally change your life. You just the first, not even two pages of the chapter in my book entitled A Sprinkle of Curiosity and this is from my latest book, the Sprinkle Effect, a Guide to Creating a More Colorful and Fulfilling Life. Here we go, shifting my mindset from I can't to maybe I can was life-changing. I opened myself up to new experiences, ideas and people. I saw the world with fresh eyes, anxious to learn all I could about anything that would help me on my life journey.

Speaker 1:

My exploration began with yoga after I lost a bulk of my weight. I had always enjoyed exercising, but I typically chose classes with a dance component to them. I assumed that yoga was for flexible people who looked good in leggings. That certainly wasn't me. When I was 36 years old, I had a spinal fusion, which means I have titanium screws and rods in my lower spine. In addition, I had two hip replacements and sometimes still suffer from nerve pain. I was under the care of a pain management specialist who told me for years I should be doing yoga and swimming, and I would tell him, neither of those things were for me.

Speaker 1:

With my mindset shift and the encouragement of a friend who was a yoga lover, I decided to give it a try. I went to a class at my gym and although I didn't enjoy it and could barely keep up, I noticed my back felt better afterwards. I couldn't deny the fact that it helped. So I continued going to yoga classes at the gym. Once a week A new yoga studio opened around oh, my goodness, I can't read today.

Speaker 1:

A new yoga studio opened around the block from my house and my friend was one of their first customers. She loved it so much that she would give that she would go to a class almost every day. She urged me to give it a try. She particularly loved the hot yoga classes and I was curious but completely intimidated. My limiting beliefs reminded me that I would be judged and embarrassed. However, I was able to turn off the voice, overcome my fear and attend a hot yoga class. Fifteen minutes into the class I thought I would pass out from the heat and the speed and intensity of the poses. It was hard not to compare myself to my friend or the other students in the class when we so-called rested in downward dog. I could barely rest without collapsing onto my mat. Downward dog I could barely rest without collapsing onto my mat. I don't know how, but I made it through the entire class and when I was able to get outside and breathe some cool, fresh air, I was proud of myself.

Speaker 1:

I decided to try again, but this time I went alone and attended a gentle flow class which was more my speed. Even though it was challenging, the benefits were hard to deny. My back felt better than it had in years and I always left the studio feeling peaceful and relaxed. I took the plunge and became a member. After trying several classes and instructors, I settled on attending three days a week. I'm not going to, I'm stopping. I'm stopping because that's kind of the end of that story or the beginning of my yoga story, of my yoga story. What I go on to explain is that I wound up finding my people in believe it or not, a 5.30 am yoga class there was only knew how to differentiate her instruction and we all got comfortable with her and with each other, and it didn't matter that one or two of the girls could do so much more than I could. There was another woman who was kind of on even par with me, so some days she would do things that she knew that she you know, the other woman and I, who weren't as strong liked better, but always gave the more you know, more flexible or stronger girls a challenge as well, and I grew to love it.

Speaker 1:

When I first started with yoga, one of the things in the gym that I could not stand was Shavasana, and for those of you who aren't yogis, shavasana is the name of a particular pose that comes at the very end of the class. It's also called dead man's pose. So the very last thing you do is you lay on your back literally like with sprawled out, almost you know, your arms and legs, just everything, completely relaxed, and you close your eyes. And that's the pose completely relaxed, and you close your eyes. And that's the pose. And when I first did it in a class of like 25 strangers, when they said, just kind of sprawl out and close your eyes, I couldn't do it. I mean I did it, but when I say I couldn't do it, closing my eyes, my mind was racing. I can't believe I'm closing my eyes. Oh, my goodness, there's all these people here. Are they opening their eyes and looking at me? Is my shirt pulled up too much on this side? What is the instructor thinking? Is he looking around at everybody and seeing what they look like, how they're doing? Oh my gosh, and I just thought, if I get up now in the middle of Shavasana and just walk out the door, will anybody notice? That's going to be more embarrassing, so I better just stay here. I mean, I am giving you the play by play of what was going through my head. Think of it what you will. This is what it was. I couldn't stand it. It was almost like I dreaded the end of the class because I didn't want to have to lay there in a room of strangers with my eyes closed.

Speaker 1:

But in this class, this class where I felt very comfortable, shavasana grew into my absolute favorite pose because it was like oh, it was. I was glad the class was over because it was challenging, and now it was like all of that energy in your body and your mind that you used in the last hour. You just were basically let it all hang out, take a deep breath and relax, and when you could fully relax mind and body into that pose, it was amazing, but you only did that for, let's say, I don't know. It depends on the teacher and the class. Let's say two to five minutes at the most.

Speaker 1:

Well, one day, at this 5.30 am class, my yoga teacher comes in and says we're going to try something different today. For the last 15 minutes of class, we're going to meditate. 15 minutes. And I even said 15 minutes. I have never meditated. And she said well, you do Shavasana, that's a form of meditation. And I said well, you do Shavasana, that's a form of meditation. And I said, yeah, but what you're talking about is at least three times more than I've ever done before. Of course, she said don't worry, don't worry, you'll be fine. That portion.

Speaker 1:

I thought, okay, where's the music? There was no music, there was no nothing. Was anybody going to say anything? For 15 minutes? There was going to be no talking, no music, what? And she said, nope, it's in silence.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so I closed my eyes and for the first I don't even know five minutes, maybe I started telling myself, not the same stories that I had told myself the first time, but it was really. How am I going to sit here for 15 minutes and not talk and not open my eyes and there's no music. And, oh my goodness, who can do this? And you know my thoughts. Just, they were everywhere and all of a sudden in my mind, out of nowhere, I hear the song I Will Survive. I hadn't heard that song. I mean, I like the song. It's not, like you know, in my top 100 songs that I love, so it's not, you know, one of those songs I typically would hear. And I started crying Because at that time I was under an intense amount of stress and it was like I was being sent a message that I'm going to get through this and I couldn't wait to open up my eyes and share with everyone this transformative experience that I had.

Speaker 1:

And from there I realized, okay, maybe I can meditate. And I decided I got an app and I tried. You know different things either music, no music, someone talking and I did find that someone talking to me was more helpful. So I stuck with that and since then I've gone on to learn transcendental meditation, which you do for 20 minutes at a time no music, no talking, no nothing. You're kind of repeating a mantra in your head and I can't get enough of it. It has transformed my life. It really has. I keep using that, because this whole idea of a sprinkle of curiosity, all of these things I had, all these preconceived notions about this, is not for me. This is too woo-woo. You know, this is just made up Just so many different stories that I was telling myself, and it might not have worked the first time or the second time or the third time, but I gave myself enough chance, enough variety in the types, the settings, that I found something that actually worked and then since then have been able to experiment with other things. And now it's been about five years since I've been meditating and I'll tell you, I wish there was more time in the day for me to meditate, for me to meditate. Okay, let's talk about something else that I tried. Again, I didn't even know what I was getting myself into.

Speaker 1:

A couple of years ago, some of my friends and I went to a spa in the woods a couple hours away from where I live and we signed up for a class called forest bathing. I never heard of it. What were we going to do? Figured we'd just be taking a walk in the woods. But we walk out the front door of the spa and the leader says I want you to go over to a tree and I want you to explore the tree, touch the tree, smell the tree, I don't remember what else and we all there was three of us we made those eyes at each other like what is this and what did we sign up for? And so we each walk over to our own tree, still looking at each other, exchanging glances like what am I going to do? Rub this tree up and down, like again.

Speaker 1:

There weren't that many people in the class, but you couldn't figure out a way for three of us to make an escape. And it was like an hour and a half long thing, miss Forest Bathing, and afterwards, after you know a few minutes, she, we got back in a group and she said who wants to share what they've discovered about their trait? Of course, none of us were raising our hands and someone answered I don't even remember what they said and then she wound up going around the group and everybody had to say something oh, my goodness, I mean I don't even remember what I made up to say. And we continued on this journey and it was kind of the same experience in that, you know, I think we were all didn't understand the things she was saying and telling us to do were odd, because we didn't. We just didn't get it. Why would anyone do this and what is the point of all this? And this is really too woo-woo out there for me.

Speaker 1:

And it continued and we went to different you know, it was then different things, it was leaves and I don't remember branches and all different things. But I have to say, probably, maybe about a little less than halfway through, each of us started sharing a little quicker and each of us had answers that were more in-depth, because when we let go of all of those stories, it changed the way we were looking at what we were doing. Our minds were more open to the experience, open to what this woman was telling us to do and explaining to us how you know, we all us, and everything in this world, everything in nature, how we all need each other and how we all work together. By the end we were calm and peaceful. And I'll tell you, I came home and I thought where can I find around where I live, forest bathing?

Speaker 1:

Is it a thing Like? Do people around here do it? And I looked into it a little bit but never really found anything that worked for me and I can't even believe it. I can't even believe it If you had asked any of us I mean, we were really, when the woman wasn't talking, in the first half hour, the three of us were plotting how to make our great escape. But when you open your mind, when you really open your mind and you stop telling yourself these stories, these assumptions, or calm these fears, your life can literally change. So many of the things that I've tried have changed my life and enriched them. But if we stay with what we know 24-7 and don't explore, we will never grow. We're not opening ourselves up to new possibilities. And sure, some of the things that I tried, they weren't for me, and that's okay, it doesn't matter. I'm not going to become a regular paddle boarder, that's okay. I gave it a try and I'm proud of myself.

Speaker 1:

Let me just read to you the last couple of paragraphs of this chapter. Was I dropped into an alternate universe? I was discovering there was an entire world out there that I knew nothing about. Not everything I tried was for me, but that was okay, and it won't be for you either. It doesn't matter though. Because it doesn't matter though, because it was interesting and stimulating, shifting my outlook on life.

Speaker 1:

Each morning I woke up excited about the day, looking forward to experiencing and learning new things. All those preconceived notions I had disappeared. I saw firsthand how many of those beliefs came from a place of ignorance and fear. Curiosity opens up new opportunities, making life richer and more interesting. So drop all those assumptions, biases and judgments and get out there and be curious. Open yourself up to something new today. Maybe it's a book from a genre you've never touched or a class you've been curious about. You don't need to leap, just take one small step. Who knows? It might be the beginning of your own beautiful journey towards a more curious and fulfilling life, leading you to amazing places.

Speaker 1:

So I ask you what are you going to do today? What is something new that you can try? I would love for you to share that answer with me, either on social media, at debbierweiss, or email me at debbie, at debbie r weisscom. And before I close, I just want to share with you that just today, I am just launching a sale a 25 for 25. Yeah, I think that's what I'm calling it. It's kind of catchy. So the maybe I can begin to change my life course, which is ordinarily $47, is now going to be $25 through the end of the year. And not only that, you can buy it for yourself. And now there's also a button where you can gift one to someone else.

Speaker 1:

So go over to DebbieRWeisscom backslash, begin change. And with that, please go out there, be curious, explore, and until next time I'll see you next week. Thanks for spending part of your day with me here on Maybe I Can, exploring possibilities one sprinkle at a time. It's been great having you and I hope you're leaving with a spark to light up your journey to more. Remember, every big change starts with a single maybe. If you're ready to kickstart that change but not sure where to begin, I've got just the thing for you. Head over to download my free guide, the One Critical Step to Kickstart Change, and take that all-important first step. Let's make those maybes into reality, one sprinkle at a time. Catch you next Tuesday at 4 pm Eastern, 1 pm Pacific, with more stories, tips and that extra push you might need. I'm Debbie saying goodbye for now, but always remember maybe, just maybe, you can.

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Debbie Weiss

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