Yesterday, as I sat looking out my living room window, I saw a squirrel. Now, squirrels are a fairly common sight; there’s not really anything special about seeing them. Except for this one. This squirrel was sitting on the fence, calmly eating a nut, as a cat stared at him from approximately four feet away. I was witnessing a brave squirrel.
Being brave can be difficult for the best of us, but especially for those who are shy. When you’re shy, you have to be brave in situations that are just normal, everyday ones. As a shy person myself, I’ve experienced many instances of having to push myself out of my comfort zone in day to day interactions. As it is the new year, the time to make resolutions and generally try to be a better version of yourself, I’ve made being brave one of my resolutions. That sounds great in theory, but what are concrete steps that can be taken to achieve the intangible concept of being brave? I think the squirrel can help us out.
First, the squirrel just simply did not care that the cat was staring at him. Imagine yourself as the squirrel. Imagine one of your struggles or fears as the cat, staring you down, always present in your mind. Now, imagine not caring about the presence of the cat. Let yourself be aware of it, but don’t let yourself be bothered. It may not be easy, but just think about the power you wield when you acknowledge your fears but do not let them affect you. You have shifted the power balance — you are the one with control over your insecurity, not the other way around. I’m going to stop now before I start sounding like a motivational speaker, but in all seriousness, be the squirrel that does not back down to the cat.
Now, I know I just said that the squirrel was aware of the cat, but perhaps he was not, at least initially. There was a moment when he seemed to look over and jump, getting into flee position before resuming his eating in the same spot. The squirrel’s recovery shows his true strength. He could have let his surprise over take him and run away. But no, he stood his ground. There will be moments when we are called upon to act bravely unexpectedly. You don’t have to be the protagonist in a coming of age movie for this to happen. Maybe your biggest fear is talking in class, but one day your teacher suddenly asks you to share your thoughts with everyone. Or perhaps you feel overly self-conscious messing up in front of people, but you have to let them know you made a mistake. In these instances, we have to go with the moment and summon all the strength we have. Even if our hearts won’t stop pounding or we go and complain about it later, at least we can say we did it. We were brave.
Lastly, but still importantly, in the face of possible danger, the squirrel continued to do what he enjoys doing. Feeling shy or nervous or hesitant about a situation can happen even if the circumstance involves something exciting. For example, I am studying abroad in London this upcoming semester. I am an anglophile, yet I am terrified. My dream is coming true, but all I can think about are things that can go wrong. Feeling this way can apply to a variety of situations. Any instance that involves other people can lead to feelings of self-doubt. But to be brave like the squirrel, we must not hold ourselves back from doing whatever we find fun, even if others can judge us. Who cares about them when we’re having the time of our lives?
Inspired by the squirrel, I set forth upon this new year resolving to be a little bit braver each day. I hope anyone who is shy or who struggles with self-confidence joins me in facing their (probably self-imposed) fears. After all, if a squirrel can do it, what’s holding us back?
