If I Did Stand-Up | Our Greatest Fear…

Posted on | February 7, 2010 | View Comments

There’s this Marianne Williamson (Nelson Mandela-reiterated) quotation that has been everywhere for a handful of years now. It begins, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.” I imagine you’re familiar, but if not, you know Google is your friendly neighborhood know-it-all. (Eh. I’m posting it at the end of this entry for your convenience.)

I’m wondering if I am the only one who finds the saying a bit ridiculous. The only one who finds it, I don’t know, joke-y. Surely some comedian somewhere has touched on this.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?

Um. Let me tell ‘ya: Never have I ever woke up a day in my life saying, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? I s-u-c-k.” I’m thinking this mantra is probably one of the quickest paths to institutionalization (read as: a straight jacket).

Have you ever heard someone who’s looking for a job say, “I really hope I’m too damn awesome for this position (considering that I’ve been unemployed for a year and a half, and I have three mouths to feed)?

Have you ever heard a guy who can’t always ‘perform’ say, “Good thing this is looking like a night for erectile dysfunction because I’d sure hate to impress this woman”?

How about President Obama saying, “I need to come up with a craptastic plan as a mediocre fix for the economy and healthcare because, damn it, I’d hate to go down in history as a president who not only avoided what appeared to be eminent disaster for the United States but moved the country to the forefront of the world in a way it had never been before.”

Ser-i-ous-ly. Have you heard any such thing?

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other

people won’t feel insecure around you.

Yes, Marianne Williamson, you’re right. But how many people intentionally shrink themselves for the sake of others? (Our egos? They’re too big, too wide. We won’t fear. Won’t hide.*) Or rather, who does this type of shrinking without a plan in place that directly benefits them? (We’re all familiar with people who “play dumb” all the way to the bank and to some version of happiness.)

And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.

Again, I agree. So how it is that my biggest fear is not that I’m inadequate? Not good enough to shine? Not good enough to help others do the same?

I take every day minute as opportunity to improve so that I can be justified in saying that I am brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous. I don’t want to run around saying that these things are inherent to my being if I’m not doing anything to avoid being ‘inadequate.’ I certainly don’t ever want to believe that feeling inadequate–for myself and those to whom I owe my best–is something I don’t need to concern myself with. Something that shouldn’t be a great fear.

Does anyone else think that M.W. had a point here that just wasn’t articulated in the best possible way?

* lyric edit/play on “Ego,” Beyonce | somewhat of a inside joke