Facing your Inner Hecklers

Waldorf & Statler- The Muppet Show Hecklers

Waldorf: These seats are awful. 

Statler: Why? Can't you see anything? 
Waldorf: That's the problem. I can see everything. 

One of the great lessons, I believe, that Jim Henson taught me as a child is to face the hecklers in my life and to recognize they are a natural part of our every day audience.

Never are we faced with 100% support by everyone we meet.  

There are always going to be those who don't appreciate the performance you are giving the world.  And most likely, they'll let you know about it.

And hardly ever do we meet change in our life without some part of us resisting it with nasty or fearful comments- trying to get us to stay right where we are, or to plain ol' just give up and get off the stage.

Kermit the Frog, one of my gurus in life, never gave up.  The show must go on!

He did however constantly deal with interruptions, complaints and the insecurities and big egos of his cast members.  But the show kept going......

Opportunities will come and you will be asked to take the stage in your own life.  And you'll know your on stage because that's the moment when everyone starts giving you their opinion and advice or you inner voices start heckling you with all the "what ifs" and "you're not good enoughs" to make you want to go backstage and hide.

DON'T do it!  Absolutely keep on performing- because quietly in that audience there are other parts of you watching.  Watching and waiting for you to be BRAVE and to SPARKLE they way they knew you could someday-  Parts of you that love you and need you to sing for them, and dance for them because they don't feel big enough to do it themselves.  So, you my dear, are the Star Act of your own Show and if you don't perform, or you let the hecklers and fear mongers scare you off the stage- the world will never hear your music.  

And that is too sad for me to even think about.

I've been on stage too many times to count now (sometimes literally) and I have to say, I've grown fond of my hecklers inside.  They make me laugh and they give my middle finger excellent exercise.  And each time a new part of me is asked to be strong and take the stage, I find myself, just like Kermit encouraging and pushing myself to say "YES" to whatever song I'm asked to sing next.   I"ll give it my "all" for the parts of me who were told "you can't" or "you shouldn't".  

In fact, it's the very act of showing those hecklers who owns the stage that makes it so exhilarating in the first place!

It's what gives my life aliveness, meaning and fulfillment- showing others how to Sparkle.  

And isn't that the whole reason we are on this stage of life anyways?

So ask yourself today- what's calling me onto the stage of my life?

What am I yearning to give to the world?

And when those inner hecklers start throwing out all the reasons you suck- show em your middle finger and sing louder.