A few months ago I started reading Charlie and The Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl to my five year old son. I was cleaning out some boxes in my basement when I came across my copy (which my friend Ellen gave me for my ninth birthdayâthank you Ellen!).Â
I picked it up and thought, âThis will be a fun read.”
And fun it is. I think we are on our fourth go-round.Â
My favorite scene is this:
Charlie, along with his parents and four grandparents are traveling with Mr. Wonka in the Great Glass Elevator when things go awry. They have accidentally left the earthâs atmosphere and have gone into orbit when they encounter a group of United States astronauts aboard a âcommuter capsuleâ en route to the first ever Space Hotel U.S.A.Â
âWhat if they come after us?â said Mr. Bucket (Charlieâs father), speaking for the first time.Â
âWhat if they capture us?â said Mrs. Bucket.Â
âWhat if they shoot us?â said Grandma Georgina.Â
âWhat if my beard were made of green spinach?â cried Mr. Wonka.Â
âBunkum and tummyrot! Youâll never get anywhere if you go about what-iffing like that. Would Columbus have discovered America if heâd said âWhat if I sink on the way over? What if I meet pirates? What if I never come back?â He wouldnât even have started!âÂ
As I chuckled, it occurred to me how many times I âwhat ifâ myself out of doing things.
In my business it goes something like this:
What if no one signs up for my workshop?
What if no one buys the new products I designed?
What if I burn out?
At homeâŚ
What if someone comes over and my house is a mess?
What if we run out of food at the party?
With big life decisionsâŚ
What if I screw up?
What if something terrible happens?
All this what iff-ing, has often pushed me to do my absolute best. But it also pushes me to perfectionism and that can lead to getting stuck and giving up, or not even trying at all.
My Dad, who passed away a few weeks before my 31st birthday, used to tell me:
âYou can always find reasons NOT TO DO something. Why not focus on the reasons TO DO something?â Tweet this!
I wish I took his advice more often. Perhaps today is the day.
How about you? What things do you avoid doing because your what ifâs get in the way?
Please post a comment below.
Much love,