Taking Chances

Letting go of psychological safety. I’ve taken all of 6 or 7 guitar lessons but my teacher, James said it was go time…

I did my very first Open Mic Night yesterday at Colony in Woodstock, NY. It was scary, I was nervous, my hands were sweating and slipping on the strings on my guitar but I did it. And it felt great.

When you’re sitting for a long time and you stand up and try to stretch, you might realize just how tight your muscles have become after being in the same position for the same time. Try it now. Stand up and try to touch your toes.

Do you feel it in your hamstrings?

The exact same thing is true about our minds. We get stuck in the same routines, the same habits, and we don’t realize how inflexible we are getting and how cozy we are in our little comfort zones.

Achieving psychological flexibility and resilience for me is a practice that includes putting myself out there. I think it’s important to risk a little psychological safety once in a while to keep yourself growing. *

I’m not saying it’s easy.

It certainly wasn’t easy to get myself up in front of a crowd with only a few guitar lessons under my belt, surrounded by performers I knew were way more seasoned and better than me but I did it. And the crowd was incredibly supportive during and afterwards and I even got some tips!!

It wasn’t a miracle that got me up on that stage.

Here’s what I did:

I got to signup super early to make sure that I didn’t waffle. I spoke with the incredible host and super-talented performer Brendan O’Shea who put me at ease. I practiced for 2 hours beforehand, I filmed my practice, I meditated, I psyched myself into remembering that this was going to be really fun and then I took some really deep breaths when I got up there on stage.

Whatever gets you there.

Thoughts? Questions? Comments? I’d love to hear what’s working for you or what you’re working towards. Leave a comment below!

*Also important to note, the only thing at risk in this situation was my pride which is not nothing but I wasn’t taking a chance that could have landed me in jail, cost a lot of money, or put me in a dangerous situation or jeopardized a relationship. That’s not the kind of “Take Chances” that I’m talking about here.