“It takes courage to grow in public.”—Bishop T.D. Jakes
The fact is we ALL have public lives. Big Sister is everywhere and her eyes are not watching God. Social media posts, volunteerism, job, dating, classes…keep us in the windows of the world, on display every day.
Most of us think celebrities, elected leaders, and VIP’s are the only ones who have a high profile existence. They are constantly in front of cameras. Every word and action is closely scrutinized and added to the fragmented collages we create from snapshots of their daily lives. The most fascinating thing is how quick we are to attack someone when they change their position on an issue. We are swift to remind them what they said in the past.
I write from experience when I say there are few feelings worse than having someone denounce you with your own words. Who wants to be called a hypocrite or liar because they changed their mind and exercised their inalienable right to continuous–often painful–growth? Imagine a world where no one ever changes their mind about anything: slavery, women’s right to vote, war, bad behavior…. Stay the course and Moby Dick yourself to spiritual death. That is hell to me. If not hell, then our current United States Congress but I digress.
Find the courage to change, and then act quickly. Be more afraid of not trying, than failing. I begin every new journey with the admission that I am flawed and I may flop, but I do not plan for failure. I think of multiple ways to succeed, including giving up if or when x + x = z. How is giving up success? Thomas Edison said it best, “I have not failed, I’ve just found [another way] that won’t work.” This is not a position. This is a perspective.
Fear is a bully.
Don’t run from it.
