Dare to Believe... In YOU
Post date: Nov 25, 2015 3:11:17 PM
Walk Your Walk with Confidence
When I was a child, I used to love walking on top of the fences of the corral on our farm. It took focus, courage, good balance, and more than a few tumbles until I got the hang of it. I also had to learn which boards were the safest - the nails in the older posts can work themselves loose over time, and there was one spot that took forever to conquer due to a section where the top of a roughly cut plank was too narrow to navigate easily. But conquer it I did. One of the keys in the whole process was believing in myself.
A year or two ago, a friend of mine at church made a comment in passing that she wished she had my confidence. I asked her what she meant by that and she said that I come across as confident when I lead worship. She was rather surprised to learn that I was conveying something I certainly don't feel inside. Most of the musicians are very well trained and some are professionals - I've never had a vocal lesson in my life and second guess myself constantly. It's the same when I lead a Walk Live class - it may seem as though I have it all together and some say I'm a natural, but it took a lot of work for me to gain the necessary skills and coordination, and I still second guess myself all the time.
When I was studying for certification, I was rather burnt out mentally and my mind would go blank when put on the spot or when under pressure. I knew that when it came to the movement exam in Chicago, I needed to the moves to be second nature - the minute the music started in the exam, my body needed to go on auto-pilot in response to the beat in case I hit my mental wall. I practiced every single day for two months straight. That's why it seems to come to easily for me.Life is a continual learning process, and similar to what I went through in learning to walk the fence rails, it takes practice, focus, balance, and a times, a good deal of courage. We also need to watch out for those loose boards, and there are times when we'll come to sections ahead that are so narrow that we're in danger of falling off. Those are the times to persevere, to dig deep for that inner strength, to climb back up after a fall and try again... the time to have confidence in yourself, even if it seems impossible.
I don't remember what possessed me to start walking those narrow wooden beams all those years ago. It was likely a whim or curiosity as to whether or not I could do it. The more I did it, the more confident I became until I could beetle from one post to another at a good clip... except for that one spot... that narrow bit that put me on the ground time after time. But I persevered, determined to master it. If you're facing something in your life right now that seems improbable if not impossible, let me encourage you - don't give up. You have it within you to not only meet the challenge, but master it. Dare to believe... in YOU.
- Nancy Ehle, Certified WALK Leader, Owner, Witness 4 Fitness
