Coming In Stupid: The Freedom of the Unlearned Path
We are taught from a very young age that the map is the prize. We are conditioned to believe that having the answers, the titles, and the "expert" labels is what makes us sure-footed. We spend decades building a "Success Script"—a professional identity that feels like a suit of armor. But eventually, armor just becomes a weight.
IN THE SMOKE
Liz Stubbs
1/21/20262 min read
We are taught from a very young age that the map is the prize. We are conditioned to believe that having the answers, the titles, and the "expert" labels is what makes us sure-footed. We spend decades building a "Success Script"—a professional identity that feels like a suit of armor.
But eventually, armor just becomes a weight.
For years, I lived within that weight. I remember the season I spent unmantling my portrait photography business. I loved that work, but I reached a point where I could no longer ignore the energy drain. I found myself constantly psychologizing clients who arrived at my studio and immediately began apologizing for themselves. They didn't see their own light; they saw themselves as a set of apologies.
They were trapped by labels. And I realized I was, too.
Labels are Curiosity Thieves
As soon as we label something—or someone—we stop exploring. We hang a heavy set of generalized associations on that label and we no longer look for who that individual truly is or what a situation might actually become.
This is the cost of the "Success Script." It makes us blind to our own being's messages.
To find our way home to our Soul North, we have to be willing to Come In Stupid.
The Art of Unlearning
"Coming In Stupid" isn’t a lack of intelligence; it’s a return to your Inner Wildie. It is the radical act of unlearning the "expert" masks that have become energy leaks.
Our language and the words we use are physically linked to the neurons in our brain, determining exactly what we think and how we perceive our limits. When we choose to "unknow" our labels, we literally begin to rewire our landscape.
I began this practice in the smallest ways. I used to run outdoors with podcasts or music filling my ears, but now I listen only to the soundscape of nature. I stopped filling the space and started embodying the spaciousness.
How to Practice the Beginner’s Mind
If you feel congested by the need to "know," here is your invitation to un-clench:
Try a "Silent Day": Put away the digital distractions and notice what "AHA" hits appear when you don't fill the silence.
The Click in the Lock: Your heart reads energy long before your brain tries to psychologize it. When a decision feels like a "click" of a key in a lock, honor that native knowing—even if it doesn't fit the "plan".
Move Like a Wildie: Build your physical elasticity by doing small, "stupid" things—stand on one foot to put on your socks or brush your teeth with your opposite hand.
Returning to Your Wild
The sure-footed path isn't a five-year plan or an artificial calendar. It is a series of chapters, seasons, and cycles.
When we let go of the need to be the expert, we finally have the bandwidth to hear the questions that lead to our North. We stop being "human doings" and start reclaiming our integrity.
Are you currently spinning in your own cockpit?
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SOUL NORTH Wayfinding
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