On A Tightrope Over A Chasm of Failure
I wonder about you.I know things are stressful, and you're unsure.Every day you question. Every day you worry that you don't know where you stand, and if what you're doing is appreciated.Or even seen as important by anyone. At all.I know it's not fun to be so uncertain. Not one bit.So, I wonder if - for just one day - you could shift it.That for one day, as a test, you could own that...you actually do know what you're doing.That you're not making it up as you go along. That you're not walking on a tightrope over a chasm of failure, one error away from falling.What if - for one day - you could ignore the tightrope and come at your day from a place of calm? Generated from a deep understanding of your own expertise?Not in a boastful or bullying way, but with a centered sureness.Sure in your bones that you haven't gotten to where you are by luck, chance or happenstance.Because, you, my darling friend, are not a fluke or a mistake.No, you've gotten where you are by showing up, doing what needs to get done and honing your practice.Whatever your practice might be.I know it's easier in some ways to say that it's all luck. Or chance.Because then you don't have to claim anything. You're sort of off the hook.And no one can say you're too big for your britches.Or that you're calculating.Or trying too hard.Or not nice.If you shrug off your expertise, you'll probably continue to fit in with the crowd. You know, the Whac-A-Mole herd-like people who are only happy when no one sticks their head up?Those people.There is comfort in a crowd, for sure. But you might also feel anxious. And as if everything could change in a moment.Unsure.Unsteady.Stressed.Do you know what I'm talking about?Does it keep you up at night?It doesn't have to.You can have calm, steadiness and success. You can have great days.But to get there you have to own who you are and what you've got.So, for one day - just one - give it a try and see what happens.Stop pretending you don't know what you're doing and start owning everything you do know.Of course, be open to learning. Be open to the perspectives of others. That's what people who center in their strengths do.It's what the best leaders do.It's what you can do.Step away from the crowd. Dip into your expertise. Feel it. Own it. Live it.For just one day.Just one.I wonder what that will be like.I wonder if this week holds the day you'll give it a try.And as one day leads into another, maybe you'll happily find that you're permanently off the tightrope and walking your own, broad path of success.