Subscribe to RSSFrom stumbling on stage to walking out of the bathroom with toilet paper on your shoe, we’ve all had an embarrassing experience at some point in our lives.
While some consider these situations to be negative and demeaning, I actually think it’s an opportunity for us to grow in character and in confidence. I know it’s hard to believe how an embarrassing situation can be positive when everyone in the room is pointing and laughing, but it all begins with adjusting your perspective and learning to differentiate between reality and illusions. I was amazed to learn that, for the majority of us, the fear of public speaking is greater than that of dying! Would we really rather die than speak in front of people? How does that make any sense?
I recently watched an episode of “Inside the Actors’ Studio” where the featured guest interviewer was one of my favorite comedians, Dave Chappelle. During his interview, he described his horrible experience of bombing on stage when his jokes did not receive any laughs. He stated, however, that it was actually the most liberating and empowering experience of his career because he came to realize it wasn’t as bad as he would have thought. This fueled Dave to become the fearless and great comedian that he is today. He added that embarrassing experiences, if approached with a positive perspective, can help us grow and make great stories to tell our grandkids.
As mentioned earlier, one of our greatest fears is public speaking because of the fear of being criticized by others.  The fear of failing and being criticized is actually the cause of falling on our face. If we should fail and become embarrassed, so what? What is the worst thing that can happen, having tomatoes thrown at you? If so, then look at it as a great opportunity to improve your reflexes.
If you are reading this blog post, then more than likely you have a type-A personality, always wanting to do things right and criticizing yourself for any mistakes. However, I’m here to tell you that it’s actually normal to make mistakes, and if you are too hard on yourself for making the mistake, you will lose the lesson. It’s your responsibility to learn and grow from the experience.
Do away with these minuscule worries, especially when it comes to embarrassing criticism from others, as most of the time the worries are just magnified by an idea that is actually non-existent. As Dave Chappelle said, messing up on stage is really not that bad, it’s your perspective towards it that really matters.
I leave you with a quote that really embodies this message. “You grow up the day you have your first real laugh at yourself.” (Ethel Barrymore)
I would like to hear your most embarrassing moment. How did you deal with it?
Have you ever noticed that your day can completely change for the better when someone smiles at you? How about the mood boost that comes from a moment of laughter with others? It is difficult to feel negative when you are surrounded by laughter. Laughter has been said to be contagious. Is this a coincidence or are we designed that way?
As we are quickly approaching the dawn of a new year, many of us will be thinking about our resolutions, some will even write them down, but sadly most won’t stick with them by the end of the first month. Â How do we make things different this time? Â I am reminded of a passage out of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden which says, ” Life is the visible form of your patterns.” So if we want our lives to shift, improve or somehow expand to a new level, then we have to look at our patterns.
