Author and speaker Sonia Choquette give a fabulous demonstration of giving yourself permission to be yourself and do essentially anything on stage. The 700 or so people present respond wholeheartedly. In fact, the more Sonia is herself, the more the audience responds. It’s not that she’s does anything outlandish – just using her voice to the full and dancing around a bit – well a lot maybe.
Leaving afterwards, someone is overheard to say “I wish I had Sonia’s lack of inhibition.”
Think about it for a minute…
That’s kind of backwards. She already has her lack of inhibition, on the inside anyway. It’s a question of choosing to let it out. I suppose we get what she means though… it takes courage to be so exposed in front of so many people, or even perhaps just a few.
But here’s the thing…
The more Sonia is herself, the safer she is. The more she gives herself permission, the more we support her. And it’s the same with anyone else on that stage.
And it’s the same with people one-on-one…
The more we give ourselves permission to be ourselves, the safer we are.
I wholeheartedly agree David, Sonia really showed us that the more we allow ourselves to be open and honest the more connected we can be with others.
I for one am still learning this and sometimes worry what the group will think of me or that what I have to say won’t interest them…. but then I remember that I have the right to be heard and that not everyone has the courage to stand up and talk and that I am a nice person who wishes to convey some useful information and advice that will help others to achieve.
I really enjoyed the weekend and I am looking forward to reading your book to discover more insights…. It was lovely to meet you.
That’s great, Lindsey, and thank you for your comment. Though I am still learning this too, my experience is there comes a point where you know it’s safer to be open, and you automatically turn in that direction.
Let me know how you get on with my book.
Lovely to meet you too.