A Freak Show #Tokyo2020

I admit. This is a freak show. I am talking about the Paralympics. I want to hide it but this is how I really feel- This is a freak show.

I would be pretentious if I claim to be very comfortable and supportive of the Paralympics games. I would be lying if I say I have always been paying attention to the rights of the disabled. In fact, this is the first Paralympics I am following, and I find it very uncomfortable. It’s a freak show.

Then I find myself coming up with explanations- when I showed my son limbless swimmers flopping underwater, he repeated, “Why does he look like this? I don’t like it. He is ugly.” So feeling uneasy is just human nature, isn’t it?

Or I might find myself trying too hard overcompensating. For instance, I am writing about this here on Linkedin. I felt sharing something about the Paralympic Games everyday on LinkedIn would make me appear more … appropriate and brave. But I was struggling with it mightily because I found myself disingenuous, preachy, and self justifying.

What is going on? What should I do?

This is where I have landed so far- I think it is an important exercise for me to wrestle with. I think it is meaningful exercise to become more comfortable in my own skin- can I accept myself, someone who is afraid of the freaks, AND build a public business-generating professional self that is authentic and flawed?

And why is this a meaningful exercise?

“You teach best what you most need to learn.”

I am in the business of improving self knowledge and relating to people. I coach folks to discover and articulate their unique leadership styles. I work with them to empathise and motivate others better. Therefore the stakes of this struggle are high to me, and I am motivated to try and puzzle out some solutions.

I think and hope this will make me more useful.