You are Invincible and Other Things Nobody Ever Told You

You are invincible.

Oh my gosh, I almost deleted that soon as I typed it because I hear this broken record in my head that keeps saying, “You are NOT invincible.”

It’s a leftover memory from high school, probably.

Everyone loves to tell teenagers they’re not invincible.

I get it. I have teenagers now, and I’m wielding those words like the boss mom that I am. Actually, we don’t use that word around here. Instead, we just say things like, “Be careful” and ask questions like, “Are you SURE that’s a good idea?”

Every parent I know wants their kids to choose their friends carefully, drive carefully, and take tests carefully. JUST BE CAREFUL. It’s what I say every time they leave the house with a car key in their hand.

“Be careful,” I call as they edge quietly out the door. Also, “Don’t do drugs.”

Being careful while driving is important--other people’s lives are at stake, including our own-- but do you think it’s wise always to be careful?

Have we talked about being careful so much that we’ve scared our kids into playing it safe all the time?

Could we be projecting our own fear of the future onto practically the only people in the world who still know how to live squarely in the present?

Maybe, I thought to myself, an attitude of invincibility is a good thing.

While once pondering a new business idea, a mentor asked me, “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”

I struggled to answer the question because--let's face it--

Failure is horrifying.
And embarrassing.
And crippling.

But if I were invincible—what would I do?

Would I take more chances? Absolutely.

Would I be more vulnerable? For sure.

Would I give more away? I think so.

And really—is failure THE WORST possible thing?

Careful is good when you’re behind the wheel, but careful can be crippling when only courage will do.

And we need more courageous people.

That’s the gift of invincibility.

Every time we try something new and don’t die the positive reinforcement reminds us that WE CAN DO IT. The next iteration is usually even better. Basically, we become a little more invincible with every good ‘ol college try.

When I got married more than twenty years ago, I never could have imagined what I would be doing today. Looking back at all the hard work it took to get here, I might have said, “Forget it.” But it’s easy to take chances when we’re young because we feel like we have less to lose. And now I would even argue that it’s just as easy to take chances when you’re old because you understand that you can never truly lose what matters—the people you love and the people that love you.

Every time we try something new, our courage, stamina, and creativity grow. We become problem solvers in a world filled with both tensions to manage and problems to solve. Corruption, terrorism, legalism, racism, and trafficking all feed on fear.

So let's just agree to be courageous together.

You are not invincible. And neither am I. But I’m tired of watching people live their lives from a place of fear. If we didn’t act like we were invincible sometimes, the world would be a very boring place.

Start a new venture.

Defend someone vulnerable.

Protect something valuable.

Share with us in the comments below. The people you love and the people that love you are for you, and we want to cheer you on too!