A close family member died when I was 19 years old. I came home from Montana to go to the funeral. Before going to the funeral, my father and I were sitting around the kitchen table. I was nervous to go to the funeral and be around a bunch of people I grew up with that were all in such a depressed state. I didn't want to go. I asked my father, "Dad, how can you go to these things and know the right things to say or how to act properly"? His reply has gotten me through a number of uncomfortable situations, he said "Son, as you get older you realize that nobody in that room knows what to say or how to act properly". -I took a lot of comfort in that.

The "duck on the pond" looks like he's gliding along the surface effortlessly when in reality, his little webbed feet are paddling furiously under the water. Most of us are the same way, we may appear calm and in control in difficult situations but in reality the person across from you's mind is racing and they're just as uncomfortable in unusual situations as you are.

When you let this sink in, it's extremely empowering.