It’s so much easier to go along with the crowd, to acquiesce. There’s safety in numbers, right?
Recently, I was preparing a leadership session for a team of executives. In sharing my proposal with the Chief of Staff, I let him talk me out of a powerful drawing activity (‘they won’t want to do that, they’ll think it’s weird’). Even though I knew the drawing part would be very impactful, I gave in and dropped it.
I think I was afraid he might be right. Or maybe I was afraid to disagree or to assert my experience and expertise. And at least if I did it his way, I’d have his support.
The truth is, I was afraid to be brave.
“The world does not need more wimpy people.”, is what a good friend once told me.
“When we speak, we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So, it’s better to speak.”, is what Audre Lorde, American writer, radical feminist, civil rights activist, would say.
And there was my sister Debbie, who told me on her deathbed, that I need to do bigger things. I never want to disappoint her, so I’m taking her advice to heart, screwing up my courage, and doing the thing that is scary, damn the consequences.
And here’s what I’m learning: by being brave, I just might make a difference; by staying silent, playing small, being wimpy I never will.
Try this ONE thing
The next time you get that feeling, that call to be brave, where your heart is pounding and your knees are knocking, resolve to take at least one tiny step forward.
The world needs you to be braver; the world needs the difference you can make when you’re being brave. Click here to join me on this journey.