A courageous fool?
At Monday night's chamber meeting, the speaker, Bill Peterson, said something that really struck a chord with me.
Peterson said that in his many years working in health care, he'd spent countless hours with the sick and dying. He learned that at the end of a person's life, they wish they had done more with their years. They don't wish that they'd been more successful in business or made more money.
And then came the thing that struck me: Studies show that people are less afraid of dying than they are of making themselves look stupid.
Let's hear it again: The average person fears making a fool out of himself more than he fears death.
Wow — definitely a point to ponder.
Why is that? Why are humans so concerned with how they appear to others?
It's got to have something to do with pride.
I know that feeling. Some people just don't care what others think — but unfortunately, I do. I wish I could just go through life and not let other people's opinions bother me, but so far, that's been impossible.
I suspect that many of us are like that.
But wouldn't it be nice if we could just let go and be ourselves without worrying about who's watching? Look like an idiot without caring?
We might be tempted to take more risks. Maybe I would go skiing for the first time, even though I'm scared to death of falling and breaking my leg. Know what? I probably would fall — but I'd also probably have a blast.
And we'd be tempted to ask more questions. What was it that teachers always said — "There's no such thing as a stupid question." They say the same thing when you're brainstorming ideas: There's no such thing as a bad idea.
I've decided something: I'm going to start asking those stupid questions. If I don't know the answers, I'll ask for them — even if everybody else in the room already knows the answer.
It takes courage to make a fool out of yourself.
— JENNIFER WILSON
