I Fell and Stood Up
In front of hundreds of people
I was a typical shy guy when I was in high school and due to my school not having any other options to represent our school for an inter-school pageant-like competition, I was obliged.
Fifteen and still shy, I embarrassed myself when I tripped doing a short skit performance which I rehearsed for weeks.
The moment I fell, the world stopped, and I heard everyone shouting.
Everyone.
Including my coach, my friends, the audience, and even my competitors who were watching from the backstage.
I spent weeks rehearsing and I didn’t rehearse tripping on the props. What I rehearsed was that I would enter holding a kite as if making it fly while running backward heading to the center of the stage, step on one of the “trash” props, face the audience, and then start my monologue about calling everyone to action to help maintain a clean environment.
I did what I rehearsed.
But the “trash” props I was supposed to step on was almost knee-high, and my attempt to step on it made me trip and fall on my butt.
It was an epic fall. An epic failure.
And my butt really did hurt.
That’s because there was no one who could save my ass.
There was no one but me.
In a snap, maybe a quick few seconds, I snapped out of that moment, looked toward the audience and acted as if I was shocked that they were there looking at me, seeing my embarrassing fall.
“Hey, what brings you here,” I was still seated on the floor when I asked.
I took a deep breath.
I stood up.
I looked at them again.
“And why are these pieces of trash scattered all around here? You didn’t even bother to pick them up, did you?” — A line I rehearsed. A line I would say after stepping on and noticing the trash.
And so I went on with my monologue, followed by a quick sing-and-dance combo.
The entire performance lasted for three minutes but the moment I tripped seemed like forever.
I didn’t see the audiences’ reaction to my performance because I ended my skit flying a kite and running towards the backstage.
I heard claps, I think.
Nobody asked me about the fall until the end of the night.
And the night ended with the ‘Best in Talent’ sash on my shoulders.
It could be because my performance was really good as rehearsed.
Or it could also be because the judges (and hopefully, the audiences too) were able to see how I took the fall and how I stood back up after it.
Our stories don’t end in failures as long as we don’t allow it to.
When I failed my first attempt (after five years of having done so) of fasting last Saturday, I made up my mind to do it again on Monday. And I did just that. I fasted on Monday. I consumed only water and tea for 24 hours.
It is a small victory after an unexpected failure.
Don’t you think it is just right to celebrate small victories?
I think we should let these small victories be our motivation to keep striving. To keep moving forward. To reach for our goals and dreams. Or sometimes even to just keep holding on.
Failures are just like tripping on stage. Nothing will happen if we remain where we tripped. The first step is to recognize that we failed and that it isn’t who we are. Second is to trust that your legs can help you stand back up.
Move forward.
Do what you intend to do.
