“But what if we’re caught? It will be humiliating”, was the fear in my head.
Thirty minutes before this moment, my wife and I went out for a spontaneous walk in our neighborhood. Where I live, in Toronto, is near the factory for Bombardier Aerospace. They make passenger jets. On this particular Saturday afternoon we could tell there was something happening, with lots of people and cars, so we walked closer to see what was going on.
Normally the gates and barbed-wire fences are closed up, but on this particular day the gate was open, with security standing at the sides, and people walking in and out. Way more people than normal. We walked by, and then stood watching.
“Should we try to go in?”, my wife asked me.
For a moment I stood scared. My mind went into how humiliating it would be to be stopped by security. That I could get into trouble. That I knew we weren’t invited, and then got caught trying to sneak in. We didn’t have any passes or credentials. And then I had a moment of clarity – it was fear keeping me out. If I gave in, no one actually stopped me except myself. If security did actually stop us, then it was them, but until that moment I was acting as my own security guard.
I created a game I couldn’t lose at – we’ll try to walk in and see what happens. That I overcame the fear in my head was the winning condition. Even if I got stopped, it was them that stopped me, not me. That would be worthy of celebrating.
It was a liberating thought. We couldn’t lose. The worst-case-scenario was no longer humiliation, but of collecting a story of trying and failing. That’s something I could be proud of. At best, maybe we get inside? Let’s go for it.
And then we decided to walk in as if we belonged.
Don’t ask the security any questions or bring attention to ourselves. Don’t ask them what is going on or make it look like we don’t belong, I thought to myself.
And… we walked right passed them.
Then we found ourselves on the inner grounds of the Bombardier facilities. I’ve lived in this neighborhood for 10 years, and have only looked in through the barbed wire chain-link fence. Today, we were inside.
We kept walking. Once inside I could overhear some conversations around us. It was some sort of Family Day so that the employees could show their families where they worked and what they worked on.
We kept walking, and saw that the hangers where they build the jets were open. So we kept walking as if we belonged, and walked inside.
The factory will actually be closing and relocating to the major international airport in Toronto. These hangers will soon be repurposed film studios. Had we not taken this opportunity we’d never have seen the actual facilities where they build their jets.
And we took photos of our victory. Not necessarily of the jets themselves, but of us, that we dared to be there.
It was thrilling in that moment and it’s thrilling to once again share and write about it. It was a reminder for me, of what is out there, if only you dare.
And, I am proud of myself that I didn’t give into the fear of whether we should or shouldn’t try. This now became a story and touch point of not giving into fear. This became a moment worth writing about. This became a moment of a reminder of what can happen when you let fear guide you towards something instead of away. This reminds me of what has been missing in my life lately. Fear will guide me to that next thing, if I only listen.
Fear will guide YOU to that next thing, if you only listen. What is it?
