Speak up or sit quietly?

On Saturday evening I had a dilemma. We celebrated Grete’s mom’s birthday. For her special day, I, as a cheeky potential future son-in-law, wrote a funny poem to surprise her.

No one knew that I did this, no one expected for me to read this. I was sitting all evening thinking, should I read the poem out loud or rather sit quietly and leave it for myself. If she and others would like it, I will get bonus points. If not, I will be known as a weirdo.

I understood that I would never figure out the outcome myself. So, at the very end of the evening, when most guests were already in pleasant condition, I took the risk and performed my poem.

Ching-ching — bonus points received.

It made me think about other moments in life when I could have said something but didn’t.

As a shy and introvert youngster, I have followed Abraham Lincoln’s quote: “Better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt”.

Looking back, I have many regrets to not speak up for my values, tell the story, give a speech, or ask the scary uncomfortable question. In other words, I regret taking the risk to look stupid or weirdo.

How many times do I regret being too talkative and active? Almost none.

There’s another quote from Charles Bukowski that is especially present in today’s politics: “The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence”.

Here’s the encouraging takeaway: when in doubt, better speak up. Sometimes you might make fool of myself, but at the other times collect some valuable bonus points (especially when it involves potential in-laws).

Related posts:

The New Year brings loads of positivity and hope. How can you make the most of it and ride the waves of positivity? The mind, body, and thoughts are connected like a web. You cannot have one radiate…

A derailment is when a train comes off its tracks. For me, a derailment is when I am shunted off my spiritual path. Recently I have had a psychological derailment. I saw this event as a good thing…

Kenan Kodro er ikke typen der kom flyvende ind på scenen og brændte den af fra start af, men skulle bruge nogle år på at løbe tingene i gang. Først mod slutningen af 15/16 sæsonen i Osasuna, så han…