Thursday, June 05, 2008

Daily Courage



This strange structure--a water tower, I think--is about 12 stories high. And there's someone walking around on its sloping upper surface, adjusting those wires that hang down.

That guy has a job that takes daily courage. Maybe he's used to it. But I can't believe he doesn't get a stomach wobble now and then.

I pulled my car in beneath this tower yesterday, while in the process of correcting a wrong turn I'd made on the way to a printer's. My own small act of courage was to to, for the first time, shoot and send by phone a picture to my computer for this blog. There are people who are used to phoning in photos too, millions of them. But new tech tasks still give me a stomach wobble in the form of dread and irritation.

The daily courage requirement is different for each of us. An undertaking that feels like nothing for one person takes guts and boldness for another.

It's important to give ourselves credit for our own bold moves, and not compare them to walking on water towers.





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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Peggy,
One of my promises to myself this year has been to try removing my "mental blocks". By that I mean, the blocks I often have about not being able to do something because it might be complicated, or because I am older, or just the negative that comes up when something new or something that seems like it could be difficult enters my world. Instead of saying "no", I try to catch myself and at the very least say " why not?" I have found it often takes less energy to say yes than no to something new, and have found myself actually getting excited about it.

Another technique I am using is to say what I WANT, not what I DON'T want. I'm trying to stay in the positive. And in the same vein, I have also tried to make answering the phone less of a chore by smiling before I answer it. It really makes a difference. The positive effects of this have been entirely gratifying and I have found myself learning new things, answering the phone more often and having some fun.

Hope you're feeling better soon!

Kay in California

Peggy Payne said...

Good ideas, Kay. Think I'll try smiling at the phone too.

There's a great quote somewhere about not letting stuff get in the way. It says approximately: of course it's the wrong time in history to fulfill your dream. It's always the wrong time. And history is made by the people who do it anyway.