Like a Tightrope

Tightrope

I’ve been speaking a lot about the power of vulnerability lately. One thing I’ve noticed when I ask the audience a question, they freeze like they just took the polar bear plunge. I remember being that audience member myself, avoiding attention with all my power. Raising my hand would be like sticking my hand in a bucket of ice: unpleasantly shocking.I think this is one of the weakest links of my generation. We fear attention. Is this because we worry that our peers will judge us? That we will look uneducated? Maybe it’s the sheer nervousness that comes with the first word you speak and suddenly one hundred heads spin toward you?We have to be brave though. Brave with our words and our actions. We can’t let fear hold us back from speaking our truth.

I love the Sara Bareillis song, “Brave” because she preaches just that, “Say what you want to say, and let the words fall out. I want to see you be brave.”That’s my wish for our generation as well; that we will be brave. That we will ask questions because we are genuinely curious. That we will apply for things we don’t think we will get…we might. That we will try out for a team we don’t think we will make…we might.

If we never ask, the answer will always be no.

Be brave with your life. Believe in yourself and trust that you will be okay, no matter what the outcome.My dad has used an analogy about parenting that has always stayed in my mind. Parents encourage their children to walk on the tightrope. They encourage them to take those brave steps. But if they fall, and they will as each child practices, the parents are there to catch them as a safety net. They are not a hammock to fall asleep on, rather the safety net springs you back up. And then you walk on the tightrope again, until you come to the other side. Eventually you will make it.We need to keep taking those bold, brave steps outward and trust that even if we do fall, we will spring back up. We’re all learning.