Rollercoasters and merry-go-rounds

Pic by PhotoGraham

In a flurry of self-analysis some months ago, I was pondering my frustrating tendency toward inaction. I would often be struck by grand plans and ideas, but couldn’t seem to muster up the effort to put them into action. Articles lay fragmented and half-finished, freelance pitches and applications to acting courses stayed in my Drafts folder for yonks, and anything else that necessitated a bit of boldness or vulnerability would fall by the wayside.

Putting yourself forward for big opportunities can make you feel scared and out of control. Many of us avoid it, using time-tested tactics like procrastination, self-sabotage or building a fort with the couch cushions and hiding inside. But, man, what a boring, unsatisfying way to live.

When you have something that’s very important to you — something that is vital and treasured and exciting — it can be scary to chase after it. Because what if you futz it up? What if it turns out you’re no good at it? Where do you go from there?

One of the main obstacles to pursuing your dreams seems to be this: “What if the mean people say mean things?” Guess what? There are mean people everywhere. It doesn’t matter what you do — there will always be someone out there who doesn’t like it. There are people on this earth who find Angelina Jolie unattractive, for crying out loud. Everyone has their likes and dislikes — diversity of opinion is what makes this world so fascinating. You can’t please everyone, so you may as well do what you want to do.

There is this lovely scene in the movie Parenthood — and if you haven’t seen the film then watch it right now, because the cast is a smorgasbord of awesome — in which the dotty old grandmother busts out a seemingly irrelevant anecdote. Observe:

People: listen to gran. Always choose the rollercoaster. Its ups and downs are far, far more enlivening than the staid rotation of the merry-go-round.