It is said that the astronaut Neil Armstrong fluffed his very first lines as he stepped out on the moon. The story goes he had meant to say "That's one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind". Reporters claim he missed out the "a" before man ... and that made all the difference! Later it's said that on hearing the original recording of his transmission, he exclaimed, "Damm, I really did it. I blew the first words on the moon, didn't" I?
To have such a momentus occasion blighted over the years by a slip of the tongue seems rather harsh, yet I'm reminded of the risks we all face when we want to step out into the dark and unknown to do something new or different. It's not always easy and being watched by millions, the pressure is even more intense.
Sometimes we imagine we are being watched when we're not - it's just the movies we play inside our head. So, it's not the physical risk we're so scared of, it's the mental aspect. What we say to ourselves and in what sort of voice, and does this voice ever pause to allow us to take that step forward or is the 'play' button constantly on repeat?
So we know our mental chatter can get in the way, and the same is true when we're talking with others. The trick is to learn to switch off the inner voice so we can really pay attention and that means having the capacity to 'pause' play so we can be still and present. That can be a tall order at times.
The first step to changing or quieting those inner voices that distract or get in the way is not to banish them to the dark but, in a safe way, to become more aware of them, perhaps even more curious about what they have to say. There's rich learning in our shadow and the more we can invite them to come out for a while in safety, the more opportunity we have to put them to rest when we're wanting to take that momentus first step or when we're talking with others.
So next time you become aware of those inner thoughts that take you off course, maybe you can just record or write them down and track what they're saying. In that way, once the voices are down on paper, they're literally out of your head so you can, if you like, choose to do something different with them.
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