We’ve been hearing a lot about the magnificent Philippe Petit this past week. As you may have heard, the documentary “Man on Wire” based on his life, won an Academy Award for best documentary. I wondered as I heard him speak about his life and his famous walk between the World Trade towers in 1974, how he deals with the idea that any false step could plummet him to the earth below. Scott Simon of NPR helped me out on this by asking Mr. Petit this very question in a recent interview. I was delighted with his answer and the implications for our happiness. He said simply that he turns that question mark into an exclamation point. What a wonderful testament to the power of choice in the way we see the world.
Some of us, even when we are firm ground, imagine our lives as a tightrope. We are constantly thinking about the possibility of slipping and falling rather than experiencing the joy of moving forward. Think about the question marks you have about moving forward and how you can turn them into exclamation points.