Friday, February 19, 2016

Fake it Till You Become it

There is a rather poignant moment in Amy Cuddy's TED talk where she reveals her life changing car accident and the struggles she went through to overcome her injuries...  She ends up realizing that in order to feel accepted and comfortable in some situations you must not just fake it till you make it, but fake it till you become it.  Whatever that "it" is doesn't really matter, but up until tonight I don't think I really understood what she meant.

I have been fortunate to excel in most things I have put my mind to.  Part of that was avoiding things I knew I couldn't do, and part of that was working hard to succeed.  But one thing I have always thought negatively about was my writing ability and more specifically the strength of my writing in this blog.  I know I am not going to write the next great American novel and I probably make many grammatical errors my English teachers would scold but I enjoy putting my thoughts out in the world and having them here in (relative) safety where people can't criticism them to my face or provide in-person feedback in the form of a grimace, boo, or judgmental glance.

Today, however, I finally felt like a person who can write...  One who writes a blog, but a writer none-the-less.  I faced an audience of fellow Dad writers, many of whom have written multiple bestselling books, to read a simple post from over a year ago.  You know what?  I didn't burst into flames, nobody threw stuff at me, and I actually got a few decent laughs from the crowd.  I was by no means the most prolific speaker of the evening, but neither was I out of place in the room.  It was an amazing feeling to stand in front of a group I respect and admire so much and finally feel like a part of the club, one of the guys, one of the bloggers in the room.

I have been writing this blog for over 2 years now, but tonight I became a blogger.  I felt a sense of acceptance and pride as my words were digested by my peers.  And that is who they are, my fellow dads, my fellow bloggers, my fellow brothers, my peers.

DadSLAM 2016

1 comment:

J. A. Busfield said...

It was great to hear you read this evening!