I taught a class a while back and got feedback that, while it was a good class, I was playing it safe. My friends said, “Emily, you’re a little badass but you didn’t let that shine”. Wow, I was offended. I told myself I did great! I didn’t play it safe! But for some reason, I couldn’t get over this feedback.
I reflected back on my teacher training a year ago and my feedback from a very smart and genuine man was, “Emily, take the lid off”. I instantly put up a wall. He doesn’t know me! What the hell does that mean!?
Now as I think of this feedback I’ve gotten, it hits me… I do play it safe. I put walls up so no one can hurt me. I have cleaning day on Saturday. I balance my checkbook every day. I think of canceling with friends if they invite me to do something outside of my “norm”. Sometimes I just don’t want to take a chance and risk f***ing up. I don’t want to look stupid or imperfect. I took Beth’s class last night and she talked a lot about how we put walls up to protect ourselves and how we’re not perfect. I almost stood up right then and there and said, “Beth YES I AM!” But what is perfection really? The textbook definition describes it as freedom from fault or defect. But aren’t those little imperfections what make us perfect? Because of our life experiences and our attitudes, we’re each unique and perfect in our own way. I digress.
Sometimes we play it safe because we want to appear that we know it all or that we don’t ever screw up. But that’s how we grow. As babies, we didn’t just pop out walking. We stood for a few seconds, wobbled a little bit, fell over, cried, and tried again. Why as adults are we afraid of busting out? Why are we so afraid of falling? The thing is, each person has something amazing to share. If we don’t let out our inner badass, whatever that may be, we’re doing a great disservice to the world. So maybe it’s scary teaching a new sequence or speaking my truth, but if I don’t, how do I know what I’m capable of? Maybe it’s scary trying headstand or handstand, but if you don’t, will you ever know if you can?!
Humans are such organic creatures that it’s simply amazing. We have the ability to change and grow every single moment of every day. We are faced with challenges and experiences that give us opportunities to evolve. If we take chances and put ourselves out there, sure it may be scary, but what might be possible if we do?! What’s so bad about shining our inner badass? Don’t hold back. Bust out of the boundaries you’ve set for yourself (and yes we all set them for ourselves). We are limitless!
