* special US election edition
I did my first ever Facebook Live today and inadvertently discussed politics. Don’t worry if you missed it. It was on a private page and it only lasted a minute and thirty seconds before I panicked and shut it down.
You see, I had come up with this brilliant analogy about anticipation and anxiety. I likened it to pulling off a Band-Aid.
I don’t know about your house, but my two kids (and I) tend to build up the pain of ripping off a Band-Aid so much that sometimes it’s almost comical how much it doesn’t hurt in the end.
It got me thinking about the hard things we sometimes have to do. The anticipation of doing something new or uncomfortable is often more painful than just getting on with it and doing the thing.
I thought I was brilliant. “Hey,” I said to myself. “Maybe this won’t be that hard after all!”
But then my brain turned on itself.
“You’re talking about getting a shot? On Facebook? To strangers? People are going to know you got a vaccine, and they’re going to be mad. You know how political things have gotten! How dare you tell anyone you got a flu shot!”
My heart was pounding in my ears. I was visibly sweaty. Windows were popping open on my screen causing tiny little panic attacks, one after another. “YOU’RE LIVE,” “DELETE,” “POST TO FEED,” “END LIVE NOW,” “ADD A DESCRIPTION.”
I just started hitting buttons. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I knew I was turning pink all over, and it was being broadcast LIVE to hundreds— Okay. I’ll be honest… nobody. But still!
I tried to find the delete button that had popped up while I was still recording, but it had gone into hiding, much like I wanted to. I was shaking by the time I figured out how to delete it. I hovered over the cursor to destroy the video before it destroyed me, but then I realized something:
“Kate,” I said. “You’re in your head! It’s a freaking analogy, and your idea has merit. Your vaccine reference might offend some people, but that wasn’t your point. You were trying to suggest that the hesitation and anticipation we feel before doing a hard thing is often bigger than the discomfort of just doing it in the first place.”
Then I hit “post.”
There’s a time and a place to get political. The voting booth comes to mind. It’s a way of avoiding screaming into the black void that is the Internet and instead making a tangible impact. Even from halfway across the world, I’ve done my due diligence and sent in my absentee ballot (and double-checked it arrived).
Doing a one-and-a-half minute Facebook live post at a time when I KNOW everyone’s asleep that mentioned I got a vaccine might not be the place for politics. Let’s hope my two viewers agree with me.
This is a special edition. Recordings will be back next time!
