Need Courage To Show The World Who You Are? Try This…

So, I’m guessing that you probably know who Jackie Robinson is. If not, go see the movie, 42. I saw it this weekend – great film about a great man.

42 highlights the tough, often discriminating, often prejudicial road Jackie Robinson traveled as the first African American player in major league baseball.

The whole movie was enlightening, but there was one scene in particular that really got me thinking.

Picture this. Jackie had just joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. He enters the team locker room, filled with white men, all of whom have their own dedicated locker – a place to call their own, so to speak, to store their uniforms and other items.

But all Jackie got was a few hooks against a wall. No dedicated space, but, rather, a space symbolic of the segregation that very much existed at that time (1947).

And a space symbolic of the courage this one African American man had to have as he entered an arena where he was different from everyone else and where almost everyone else saw him as less.

As Jackie (in the movie) stared at his “space”, I stared at Jackie, thinking to myself…

Wow. What unbelievable courage he had to be himself…and to show himself to the world.

Maybe we’re not all breaking the color barrier, but I think we can all use a little ‘Jackie Robinson courage’ when we need a little courage to show ourselves to the world.

When you need courage to show the world who you are, try this…

So, I’m curious…how do you find the courage to show the world who you are? Share with me in the comments below! And, in the meantime, try these tips on for size:

:: Plan for the worst-case scenario.

When it comes to finding the courage to show the world who you are, I love this advice from Dale Carnegie: “First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst.” What’s the worst thing that can happen if you show the world who you are? You’ll be judged? No one will like you? Chances are, none of this will happen, but, if it does, by doing this exercise, at least you’ll be prepared to handle it. And, remember, so often we assume the worst will happen. How about assuming the best?

:: Lower the stakes.

Whose criteria are you using to measure your worth? So often, I think we measure our value by other people’s criteria versus our own. So, we inevitably question whether we measure up and, in turn, raise the stakes involved with showing the world who we are. Lower the stakes by measuring your worth by no one else’s standards but your own…and realize that your own standards, though they can be high, don’t need to be perfect.

:: Decide. In your own time.

Sometimes, it really does just comes down to deciding. Deciding that you no longer want to be afraid to show the world who you are. And then doing it, no matter what happens. But that decision can come at different times for each of us. Make it when it feels right for you, but I hope you do indeed have the courage to make it. Because the world needs someone just like you.

To showing the world who you are,

 

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