Tension of showing what you can do.

I recently watched an episode of America’s Got Talent. On the episode, there was a young girl, Roberta Battaglia, 10 years old, who sang Shallow by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.

I highly recommend you watch the clip:

She absolutely killed it. It gave me the tingles listening to it. Her voice was powerful and her ability to move the audience was off the charts.

Events like this are incredibly moving because she’s sharing something skillful, something she’s likely practiced with all her heart, and baring it for all to see. She cried. The audience was thrilled, and the room was filled with nothing but support.

While she is tremendously talented, she was incredibly nervous to share her skill with the world.

Can you relate?

We all feel this way. There is a natural tension that exists, it fills us with the feeling that if we share what we can do, harm will somehow come to us. That it’s possible we’re not as good as we think we are. In reality, on both sides, her’s and the audience’s, everyone wanted her to do well. Real life is nothing like digital life. No one has ever said negative things in-person about my work, but online, about 10% of comments will be negative about anything I post. The same will be true for you.

Want to know how to deal with it?

Ignore it.

The 90% who like it are who you do it for, keep going for them. Don’t stop for the negative 10%.

I can think of three outcomes to sharing what you can do:

1. People discover you. Like this girl, Roberta Battaglia, you show the world something awesome.
2. You discover yourself. Perhaps what you thought was your talent, really isn’t. There is something else that you would do better with.
3. You discover something that can improve the work or talent you have. Good feedback helps everyone.

“Discover” is used in each of those three options because that is what sharing is, it’s a form of discovery for your life. Only by working, practicing, and sharing can you understand what it is you’re meant for. No one does it by pondering.

What can you show us today? Drop the fear and do it, your self-discovery awaits.