As part of my ongoing midlife crisis, I bought a motorcycle.
It’s little more than a scooter, but my feet reach the ground. I’d never really
ridden a motorcycle before so I dutifully went to the training course required
by insurance and Nancy.
There were about 20 students, most were young soldiers required by the army to be there if they wanted to ride on post. So there I sat, over 40 and inexperienced, with a bunch of hot shot 20 year olds who had been ridding for years.
Now, I've never been cool (what’s really sad is nerds and hipsters are cool now, but there’s still no love for little bald white guys) so I’m used to feeling a little intimidated in a room full of successful men. But here I was, on the back of a bike with a bunch of kids I will never see again and all I could think was, “You’re going to crash and humiliate yourself.”
It’s bizarre.
Why do we live life afraid? Men don’t like looking stupid, especially in front of other men. For some reason, we’re wired to need the respect of our peers.
I don’t think that’s a bad thing, it can drive us to work harder and achieve more, in an effort to earn the respect we’re looking for. The problem comes when it paralyzes us.
In language school, some successful men really struggled because they didn't want to sound like a 2 year old. Unfortunately, you can’t learn unless you open your mouth and when you open your mouth people will laugh. You might as well laugh too, it’s part of the process.
I’m convinced there is so much more life we could suck out of our journey on this planet if we didn't care who laughed at us. There’s too much to see, do, love, share, experience and even endure. It’s out there, waiting for us.
What is it in your life you've been afraid to try? Go do it. I promise not to laugh.
There were about 20 students, most were young soldiers required by the army to be there if they wanted to ride on post. So there I sat, over 40 and inexperienced, with a bunch of hot shot 20 year olds who had been ridding for years.
Now, I've never been cool (what’s really sad is nerds and hipsters are cool now, but there’s still no love for little bald white guys) so I’m used to feeling a little intimidated in a room full of successful men. But here I was, on the back of a bike with a bunch of kids I will never see again and all I could think was, “You’re going to crash and humiliate yourself.”
It’s bizarre.
Why do we live life afraid? Men don’t like looking stupid, especially in front of other men. For some reason, we’re wired to need the respect of our peers.
I don’t think that’s a bad thing, it can drive us to work harder and achieve more, in an effort to earn the respect we’re looking for. The problem comes when it paralyzes us.
In language school, some successful men really struggled because they didn't want to sound like a 2 year old. Unfortunately, you can’t learn unless you open your mouth and when you open your mouth people will laugh. You might as well laugh too, it’s part of the process.
I’m convinced there is so much more life we could suck out of our journey on this planet if we didn't care who laughed at us. There’s too much to see, do, love, share, experience and even endure. It’s out there, waiting for us.
What is it in your life you've been afraid to try? Go do it. I promise not to laugh.
You laugh at me all the time... ;)
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of you when I wrote this. Not the laughing part, the unafraid to try something part. I'm proud of you!
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