My younger sister and I went out this weekend. It was just the two of us and we decided to hit up a local karaoke bar. I will tell you right up front: I don't karaoke.
Am I a terrible singer? My 2 year old seems to think I have a delightful voice, but would a crowd of drunken strangers agree?
I don't know because I've never put myself out there to find out. Karaoke is all about being confident enough (or drunk enough) to get up there on stage and open yourself up for ridicule. And I've never done it. But Saturday night I came pretty darn close. What was holding me back?
Fear of failure. Why should I care so much what strangers think? I shouldn't.
This got me thinking about the parallel between karaoke and life. Many people never start their weight loss journeys simply because they're afraid to fail. I'll admit to feeling the same way at the beginning of my journey. I didn't want to tell people I was working on losing weight because I knew I'd be ashamed if I failed.
The same thing goes for running. So many people want to get into running, or want to train for a specific race but they hold themselves back. They're afraid to fail.
Isn't never trying worse than failing? I think so. If I hadn't opened myself up to possibly failing then I would still be miserable and pushing 300 pounds.
I can say at the ripe old age of 27 (gasp) that I have never gotten up and sang Karaoke. It's an experience I've missed out on. I refuse to live in fear.
So this weekend, when girls night rolls around again, you'll find me on stage, with a microphone in one hand and hopefully a smile on my face.
I will face my fears. Will you?