Outside the Box

Throughout our lives, we unwittingly set the stage for people to make assumptions about who we are, what we believe, and what we are committed to. They may be correct assumptions, or not - we don’t have control over them.

Sometimes, when we step out of the neat tidy box we’ve been put in, we receive unexpected criticism. This begs the question: if someone believes something about you, and you prove them wrong, who has the problem? You – the person stepping out of the mold – or the person who cast the mold?

I’ve never been one to believe in holding back because of what someone might think. In fact, my commitment is to step out and make people think. If I can put questions into the world that accomplish that, I’ve done my job!

On several occasions, I have asked these difficult questions at the cost of what others think of me personally. That’s okay because what others think of me isn’t important. What is important is that others get what they need to get to make their lives better and hopefully go on to make a difference for others too!

Admittedly, pigeon-holing can be difficult to avoid (yes, I do it too!). But there are a lot of dangers and consequences when we make assumptions about others. If we believe that people are always going to act a certain way, and we treat them accordingly, we risk clipping their wings so that they’ll never reach their fullest potential. We risk blocking changes they are capable of making simply because we choose to believe we "know” who they are, rather than listening from a place of possibility.

Now, do I believe that everyone has it in them to be a great actor, dancer, singer, etc.? No, but I do believe everyone should have the chance to explore who they want to be and to make a difference where they can, no matter what neat and tidy box we believe they belong in!

If we don’t create room and listen for new ideas, we miss out on learning something new. Even at my age, I’m not done learning, growing, or teaching! So how about you?