I have come to the conclusion that I am way too humble. Last born and one of the babies amongst cousinship I never had the spirit of courageousness. For anybody who is a part of my private life, you may be confused. As a self professed loudmouth, you never see me coming. You hear me. But if you know me personally you know I am better at lifting people up than believing in my abilities to do whatever I put my mind to.
As I recently got lost in one of my deep reflective moments. I was thinking about all the Joe’s and Josephine Bloggs, who have had no formal training in a trade or specific skill. Yet have had the audacity and passion to dare to try something new and have excelled at it. I have a long list of things I would like to do or experience in my life, but if I am being honest with myself I probably will only try 25% of those things. Mainly due to fear. But, partly because how do the young people of today say it “my heart don’t beat like that”. Basically I am way too cautious. And although this has kept me safe over the years, what is a life without some positive risk taking?
This has shown me that it is about time I learned the spirit of audacity. The Britannica dictionary defines audacity as “a confident and daring quality that is often seen as shocking or rude”. If you ask me being audacious gets a bad rep. It is often viewed negatively as reckless. Rather, it should be seen as adventurous enough to do the things others are too frightened to see through.
As I come to the close of Mel Robbins popular book “Let Them”, I was personally motivated by a section in the book. It is actually about not letting others take advantage of you. She writes that a lot of people believe they are an exception to the rule. They constantly think that whatever risky thing they are going to do will work out in their favour. Although it seems extremely main character syndromish, there is something special about having this notion be a guiding principle. So what that your mother didn’t make it as a dancer. No your father wasn’t able to become an entrepreneur. But why does that mean you can’t conquer and defeat the odds?
As powerful as I have always known myself to be I realised I am not someone who who can see a 50/50 situation and go at it as if it will 100% pull through . What has always pumped the breaks for me is what I like to name as my strong spiritual connection. This has always made me think that the universe will choose me to make an example out of. For example, I remember as a teen. Everyone was lying to their parents about where they were going on weekends. I always thought that if I lied about my whereabouts, I would get caught up in a crazy bank heist. It would get broadcast on the news. My mum would find out I lied. I would still be grounded today. This could probably happen. But in hindsight I never went to any banks back then because I was a brokey.
I am in love with having a spirit of audacity as it goes beyond being brave. Often worn as the guise of “fake it till you make it” but it is much deeper than that. You truly have to believe that the only option is for you to make it, that betting it all on black is going to give you the winning result. Those who were gifted with an audacious soul don’t harbor that ever growing seed of doubt. If doubt does attempt to root itself through the discouraging ideas of the outside world, it is quickly cut down. Their internal compass is set persistently on success as an absolute certainty, not merely as hope. Audacity is the conviction that your vision is already realised. This confidence leads them to demand nothing less than the extraordinary both from the world and the world around them.
When we think about it life really is just a series of choices. There really is no wrong or right because each decision brings you to a level of understanding that never existed. We get so caught up in doing the right thing, that we forget that in order to truly learn we have to try something out without knowing what the outcome might be.
I don’t believe that there is ever one way to see the world. Not everything needs to be the logical decision. Refusing to be confined by one conventional way of understanding empowers us. It grants us the ability to trust our own instincts. We can trust opportunity where others only see risk. This is what gives people the determination to take calculated risks. With self awareness to guide it. This mindset becomes a powerful force. It clears obstacles and builds success from nothing. This proves that a unique and tenacious vision is more valuable than rigid compliance to the known.
What can you do today that would take one step closer to claiming the spirit of audacity?
