I cannot fail being myself

"You cannot fail being yourself." - Sydney Wiecking

I heard the quote above during a coach training session the other night and the power of those 5 words hit me square in the chest. They shined a spotlight on some fundamental things I have struggled with in the past like fear of disappointing others and the fear of failure that comes with that. More importantly, they gave me something to work on, something to experiment with.

While I walked my dog the next morning, I explored this new perspective for a while, looking at where I was not "showing up" in my life. I looked at the time I spend at work, with my family, with my friends, with my coaching clients, or even in the line at the grocery store. What I saw in each of these cases was the same thing showing up in varying degrees depending on the situation.

When there is any level of fear of failure in me it is because I am holding myself back. I am trying to be what someone else wants me to be or what I think they expect me to be. For all of these years I have unknowingly put failure as an obstacle in front of me and have had to fight all of the unnecessary anxiety that comes with trying to avoid it. All this work just to look (feel?) "successful".

The truth is, when I bring my perfectly authentic self I will always succeed. There is no judgement. There is no right or wrong. There are no assumptions. There is creativity, learning, transformation, and truth. There is no failure. In addition, bringing who I really am gives others around me the permission to relax, open up, share their troubles, share their dreams,create, and bring their own authentic selves to the project, party, meeting, coaching session, or whatever the situation is. The connection and space that is created is powerful and filled with unlimited, extremely courageous potential and creativity.

But don't take my word for it. Go ahead and experiment with it yourself. I would love to hear about what you find!

When in your life are you the most authentic and open? Where in your life are you trying to be someone else? What impact would being authentic in those areas of your life have?

Have an awesome week being you!

dave

#freetobe