Hidden Traits

Last week I attended a magical performance by a Broadway improv rap group known as Freestyle Love Supreme.  The performers took words and phrases from the live audience and created extraordinary rap songs and skits based on those inputs, right there on the spot, without any planning or formal choreography. 

Imagine…going up in front of hundreds of people to sing and dance, and making it all up as you go.

After the show, I spoke with one of the performers about how they generate the words spontaneously on the fly.  With practice, he explained, finding words that rhyme is relatively easy.  The real challenge is turning down the volume of the voice in your head that says “that’s stupid, don’t say that. No one’s going to like it. You shouldn’t even be up here”.

Now that’s courage!

It’s easy to look at top performers and notice the skills they display. Whether it’s an artist’s ability to create spontaneous raps, an athlete’s 3-point shot, or a CEO’s knowledge of the market, their external skills will always be more visible than what’s going on inside their minds and hearts.

But perhaps we ascribe too much credit to their skills and underappreciate their hidden attributes.  These are traits like courage, empathy and integrity.   It’s easy to practice, study and work hard at developing our skills, then wonder why the results aren’t improving more quickly.   

We need more than knowledge and practice to be extraordinary.  We need the emotional fortitude and character to apply what we’ve learned.   And every time we choose to do the right thing, every time we listen a little more openly, every time we allow ourselves to be seen when we’d rather sit in the background…every choice builds those muscles just a little bit more.