Yesterday was the first day of the
second half of 2012. Yes, the year is
now half completed. I’m taking some time
to assess how I’ve used the year so far and to decide how I want to use the
rest of the year.
I’ve done things this year that
I’ve never done before––I’ve published my first book and I’ve signed up to be a
weekly columnist for a local newspaper.
I’ve allowed myself to pursue what I’ve wanted my entire adult
life––writing.
This year I’ve allowed myself the
courage to embrace the possibility of failing in new ways and I’ve experienced
a satisfaction I’ve never had before.
The following is an excerpt from a
posting on the website http://pickthebrain.com by Scott MacIntyre. He made it into
American Idol’s Top Ten a few seasons ago.
I read this early on in the year and his words tucked themselves in the
back of my head.
I’m going to allow myself to be
challenged with new risks for failing and am looking forward to experiencing
even newer satisfactions in the second half of 2012.
What about you? What “bridge” are you going to dare yourself
to jump from? Like Scott, I can only
believe that the water will be both cold and invigorating!
Perhaps the biggest
fear for many of us is a fear of failure. But if we never try, how will we know
the outcome? So many people worry about what will happen if they fail,
that they lose sight of what could happen if they succeed.
When I was a little
kid, my family would take a yearly road trip to a rustic getaway called Trinity
Alps Resort in northern California. We stayed in old wooden cabins,
grilled freshly-caught fish, and swam in a swimming hole along the river.
There was a walking bridge that extended across the swimming hole, and older
kids would jump off of it into the water below. One summer, I was
determined to try the jump.
I asked my dad if he
would do the jump with me, and he agreed.
There was no way for me to see how high up we were – I was born
blind. All I could do was step off the bridge, trusting that I would land
in the water and not on a rock.
My dad counted to
three, and we jumped together. The
feeling of free-falling through the air was incredible. As soon as I surfaced and caught my breath, I
asked my dad if we could do it again.
In the same way that
I was uncertain about jumping into a river I couldn’t see, I was uncertain
about how to be successful as a blind person in the very visual entertainment
industry. Every step off of the metaphorical bridge stretching across my
career was a chance to fail – but also a chance to succeed. And although
at times I did fail, with every success came more confidence to face the next
challenge, and the next after that.
As the first-ever blind
contestant on American Idol, one of the hardest things for me to do was to give
a convincing performance in the group songs on elimination nights. I
could have decided to make it easier on myself and sit those numbers out, but I
wanted to participate just like every other contestant.
Because I took that
risk, Idol producers and millions of viewers around the world were
inspired to re-think what a blind person is capable of doing.
I have to wonder
though – would I have chosen to audition for Idol in the first place if
I hadn’t decided to jump off the bridge in Trinity Alps? Fear is fear,
and the way in which I dealt with my ordinary fears was the same way I tackled
extraordinary challenges. In the end, we all have a choice: to let fear
of what might happen keep us from reaching our goals and dreams, or to take a
leap of faith into the unknown and learn as we go.
People who achieve
their dreams are people who are not afraid to take risks. And we will
never know what we could have accomplished if we never put ourselves to the
test.
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