20×2 Chicago is a storytelling/performance series hosted by Andrew Huff. In it, 20 people answer one question in two minutes. This edition’s question was “Are You Ready?” and I was one of the 20 to answer it.
This show is deceptively difficult. Two minutes is no time at all to get across an idea or performance. Your piece has to be tight. More than once when writing something for 20×2, I’ve left funny bits or lines I love in the cut section of the doc because I needed the time back for stuff that was essential.
Many performers include some kind of visual element or audience participation. One time someone did a stage dive. On Saturday night, one of the pieces involved the entire audience trying to throw ping-pong balls into a bucket onstage and ended in Andrew doing a shot of tequila. I am not that clever so I wrote something and this is it.
This will only be two minutes but I’m going to give you the “too long, didn’t listen” version anyway. The answer is “no, but do it anyway.”
Are you ready? No, you never are. Not truly, not in the ways you think you need to be.
At best, you can name the thing. And if you can name the thing, you can know it, defeat it, or demonstrate superiority over it.
“Are you ready?” is the least helpful question in these moments. You may find yourself needing to ask yourself other questions. Like what’s next or what am I doing or what the fuck?
I don’t say this because I think you won’t fail. In fact, you will. Not in big ways, perhaps, but in small ones.
I’ve not been ready plenty of times.
At least twice in my life, I’ve had jobs I wasn’t ready for.
I was once in a marriage I wasn’t ready for.
These are some of the biggest failures one can experience.
But guess what? I did it anyway. And I’m still fucking here. You will be, too.
I’m 48 years old. Your mileage may vary but around 45 I entered my “don’t give a fuck” years.
Here’s what I do instead: Stay inquisitive. Be ready to learn something new. Get challenged. Defend the point of view you spent all this time honing. Hang on to what you’ve earned through experience.
This is not to say you shouldn’t keep your mind and heart open to the needs and concerns of others. This is not about ignoring other people, it’s about ignoring the you that doubts you, the you that worries if it’s not perfect, the you that tells you you aren’t ready.
That’s not your best self.
The one that does it anyway? That’s your best you.
The line between being ready vs. not ready is razor-thin. One moment you’re not, the next you are.
And that moment is now.
Photo: James Allenspach, Flickr
