Falling down

Most of the people who come to me in my coaching practice are in the process of overcoming a very large personal fear -- the fear of doing what they genuinely want and love to do. They're afraid 1) of pursuing their passion; 2) of failing at the pursuit of this passion and 3) feeling lost in the process of finding their way through this growing, artistic process.

Learning how to let their inner artist flourish takes a lot of work and willingness to screw up, make mistakes and bump into walls on the way to perfecting their craft.

Many coachees tell me of parents who constantly warned them not to do things because they might get hurt.

Getting hurt is part of life's process, especially when the journey is one to discover ourselves and the truths within us. The victory ... our success ... is deciding how to deal with painful experiences in healthy and productive ways that allow us to grow as people and artists.

When I'm out and about, I see parents with young cherubic children - who are so close to the ground, chances are they'd bounce if they fell. Hanging on to them, their parents warn them to be careful or they'll fall down!

Children who are overly warned and frightened - for well-intended reasons - run the risk of being denied the confidence they need to make their way through the world on their own terms, in their own way.

I believe we've got to let our kids fall when the possibility of them getting hurt is miniscule - as nature intends it.

If we don't let them fall in the normal process of adjusting to their still small but growing bodies, they won't learn how to get up.

On their own.