You have rhythm

I was invited to give a 5-minute "soapbox" talk on a subject I am passionate about. This is what I came up with. There is a video below and the text that I spoke from.

🙂 enjoy 🙂

You have rhythm.

I’m up on this soapbox today because I’m sure there are some people here who don’t believe that about themselves.

Let’s call these people “Rhythm Deniers”.

If this is you, or someone you know, I hope this message helps create a new perspective. Because…

You have rhythm.

In fact, you prove it every day. The everyday proof isn’t your heartbeat, which happens automatically, or your breath, which mostly happens without your input. In order for me to say you have rhythm, I think it has to be intentional. You have to do it on purpose. And you do, over and over again. Because…

You have rhythm.

I know this because, most likely, you can walk. Right, left, right, one, two, one, two. Perfect time, on purpose. If you go slow, or have a limp, or use a walker my point still stands. And whether or not you can walk you probably do other things in perfect time without thinking about it, like say… knock on a door (knock, knock, knock), or tap water off your toothbrush (tap, tap, tap), or maybe use an eraser (rub, rub, rub). Or knit, purl, knit, purl? You won’t have to look far to find an example in your life. Because…

You have rhythm.

Dear Rhythm Denier, some time in the near future, you will find yourself walking, or knocking, or tapping, or erasing, or… something. And in that moment you’ll realize that you are doing that thing with rhythm, in perfect time. When that happens, appreciate what you just did, however minor it may seem. It was rhythmic. You did it. Because…

You have rhythm.

I’m going to guess that at some point you started setting the “I have rhythm” bar too high. You compared yourself to others, or someone did the comparing for you… that jerk. Saying you don’t have rhythm because you don’t think you can dance or you don’t think you are musical is like saying “I don’t have the ability to speak” because you can’t do a tongue-twister, or saying “I don’t have intelligence” because you don’t have knowledge of a particular subject. It isn’t only self-defeating or self-limiting, it’s just plain incorrect. Because…

You have rhythm.

But… you didn’t necessarily always have it. You developed it. I’m pretty sure we all started as babies and none of us could walk. We lacked strength, coordination, or maybe motivation? But, eventually, we learned. It took a LOT of practice. Weeks and months of falling down, stumbling, maybe even getting hurt.

Probably no one ever said “that kid fell down… well, I guess they’re just not a walker.” …

No, despite the many failures, we kept trying. And then, eventually, in some way, we walked! That was a MAJOR accomplishment! Look around at everyone here. We all did it! What a bunch of walk stars! I think we all deserve a round of applause: <clap, clap, clap…>

Great job.

Now… did you notice what you just did… you just did something rhythmic. We weren’t synced up, but chances are good that you clapped in perfect time with evenly spaced claps… without effort.

So, say it once more:

You have rhythm.

Don’t be a Rhythm Denier. You have earned the right to say “I have rhythm.” Period.

If you didn’t believe it before, I hope you believe it now.

You have rhythm.

That is not opinion, that is fact.

Above all please don’t ever tell someone — including yourself — that they don’t have rhythm.

They do.

You do.

We all do.

Thank you.