Boxes and Bravery

Dear Client

We, as humans, tend to make up our minds about someone fairly quickly. We look at someone and almost instantly place them in some sort of category or box, label that box, and then pride ourselves for “having a good sense of people”. 

I don’t think there is anything wrong with doing that per se, after all humans are designed and programmed to make sense of their world and the players in it from birth, but if we insist on sealing that box and keeping it sealed, I think the world is at risk of losing much needed depth, strength and beauty.

My family had the privilege of going to a game farm with some friends over the weekend. All the kids wanted to go on a game drive using an old diesel driven four-wheeler. It is noisy even for me. My daughter is notoriously sensitive to loud noises and a motorbike driving past the car at speed is enough to reduce her to tears. But resilience showed up, she knew that it was going to be noisy and she prepared herself for that, she got up, took in her position right next to the engine and sat there, for the whole trip, bravely fighting her fears and discomfort in order to have an experience she would not otherwise have had. She did this three different times, every time with less discomfort and more excitement. 

The same thing happened when the kids wanted to shoot air-rifles, my daughter did not want to at first, but curiosity kicked in, followed with a good dose of bravery and viola, she tried it and loved it.

This made me wonder about the boxes we place people in, you see when the idea to go on the game drive first came around, I remember thinking – good luck – no chance she is getting on that noisy old thing. I placed her in her box, and I was not wrong – I know my daughter and I can confidently say that she still does not like loud noises. But I did not bet on bravery and resilience. Bravery got her there (knowing it was going to be loud) and resilience kept her there and made her go again. 

I think that too often we keep our “people boxes” sealed. We fail to give people opportunities and options and we don’t extend the invite simply because of the box that a person is in. I want to encourage you to start betting on bravery and resilience and unseal those boxes – if for no other reason than giving bravery a chance. 

As we continue through the last 5 months of this year remember to open those boxes, bet on bravery and be awed by the resilience of the human spirit. 

Ianthè Biggs  |  Conveyancer

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