Death by Embarrassment
The summer before eighth grade, I met some friends at a park close to my house. There were boys and girls, and we were just hanging out and having a great time. At one point, we sat on the grass in a circle, legs crisscrossed. The unimaginable happened.
I tooted.
It was small but definitely audible. There was no mistaking what the sound was. So, as any insecure 13-year-old girl would do, I denied it. The boys rolled on the grass in fits of laughter. I knew I was going to die of embarrassment. Instead of the early death that awaited me, I stuck to my story. It wasn’t me! I didn’t toot! I had no idea what the sound was!
Thirty-plus years later, I can finally admit that I had tooted, out loud, in front of my friends on that day in the park.
As time passed, I had many more embarrassing moments. Some were really humiliating. But I have learned something—no one dies from embarrassment.
No one.
However, trying to avoid feeling embarrassed makes us do all kinds of things.
Lie, for one.
Hide.
Run away.
Avoid risks.
Watch on the sidelines.
Basically, we choose to live small so we can avoid an emotion. It’s crazy, right? Embarrassment is simply a feeling, and like ALL feelings, it will pass. You won’t die. I promise.
So many people only play games they are SURE they can win. This is what I mean by playing small. No real risks are taken because the threat of embarrassment and failure is too great. Are you standing on the perimeter of your life? Do you dare enter the ring and try—even if the end result is feeling embarrassed?
A few months ago, my whole family went to see Imagine Dragons. Their concert was AMAZING, and we are pretty big fans. We danced, we sang along, we jumped and swayed and laughed the entire night. It was incredible. After the concert ended, we walked to our car. A man stopped me and said he had been watching our family. Uh-oh. Surprisingly, he told me he wanted to join in!
“The concert was great, but you guys were the entertainment!”
I laughed and thanked him for his kind words. We didn’t do anything spectacular, but he noticed people who were living without fear of being embarrassed. We were all in. I’ll never forget it.
No one dies of embarrassment.
So stop living like you actually might.
Embarrassment is an emotion. It comes and it goes. If you need help feeling your emotions, I can help you. Living small is outdated.
Let’s go.
