I recently watched the movie, Julie and Julia, a 2009 film that depicts events in the life of chef Julia Child. This movie inspired me to draw parallels between her life and my own. I’m not sure if Julia Child was highly sensitive or not, but she’s a great example for HSPs to emulate and admire.

Julia Child was a genuine person who had an exuberance for life. She was extremely confident and enjoyed wonderful, profound relationships with her husband and friends. She had a passion for food and was able to craft a successful career around her passion.

Her love for food became the driving force behind her desire to learn the art of French cooking when she lived in Paris. Through that passion, she branched out and wrote cookbooks. She eventually had her own cooking show, which was the first of its kind.

Julia saw a need to teach Americans about French cooking because, at that time, there were no French cookbooks written in English. Her legacy lies in taking the mystique out of gourmet cooking and making it easy and available to the novice cook. She gave the average person the courage to try.

Julia had a natural curiosity, a sense of exploration, and a joy for learning that helped her turn her cooking into an art form. Although she was a perfectionist at heart, she refused to let this get in the way of her ambitions. She wasn’t afraid of kitchen mishaps on television. Not only did she teach techniques, but she also emphasized that mistakes could be fixed and that things didn’t have to be perfect all the time.

Despite being extremely tall and having an unusual voice, Julia never let the awkwardness that she felt get in the way of what she wanted. She was comfortable enough in her own skin to live life on her own terms. She embraced the latest modern appliances or tools of the day, even though this was frowned upon by the cooking purists. She never took offense when parodied on TV shows like Saturday Night Live. In fact, she would often get such a kick out of the spoofs that she would show them to her friends at parties. Again, Julia Child was confident in who she was and didn’t care what other people thought.

I’ve gained great strength from seeing Julia Child’s story. It inspires me to pursue my passions, which include writing, teaching, and encouraging HSPs to use their high sensitivity to benefit their lives. I’ll face many challenges in building my business and will make mistakes along the way, but I’m going to “borrow” the strength and persistence that Julia exhibited to accomplish her objectives.

Julia’s example inspired me to commit to the following:

1. I will create balance in my life with a mix of great relationships, activities to look forward to, and the enthusiastic pursuit of my passions.
2. I will use my perfectionism to my benefit. While I’ll always do the very best I can, I won’t be afraid to make adjustments when I need to.
3. I will not be afraid to try new things or seek new opportunities because of my fear of failure. I will embrace new technology and new ways of doing things.
4. I will have the confidence to live my life in my own way.
5. I’ll learn to take myself a little less seriously and spend less time worrying about what others think of me.

How does your life compare to Julia Child’s example? What can you do to have a more balanced and fulfilled life? What specific steps can you take today to embrace your passions?

Only you can create the recipe for the kind of life that you desire! I’m interested in any thoughts or comments that you have.

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