I recently got to speak with someone I’ve been curious about for a long time. He went through a difficult period many years ago. Even though he’s beyond it now, he came very close to losing everything. Financially, reputationally, psychologically, I asked how he had dealt with the darkest time he’d faced. He told me that he’d had a concern in the back of his mind. Throughout his entire life. He was always worried that deep down, he might be a coward. That he secretly might not be the strong, capable person he thought he was. That when the rubber met the road, he wouldn’t be able to stand up and face whatever the world threw at him. See, many of the challenges we face in life are largely under our control. We choose the jobs we apply for, the house we try to afford, the partner we seduce, the weight we lift. These things can still be hard. Tough, challenging, sometimes unbearably difficult. But it was us who chose the flavour of that difficulty. So what happens when absolutely everything comes crashing down? The single worst possible scenario you can imagine happens. Well, you get to see what you’re made of. What you’re genuinely made of. When all your forces are marshalled to a single challenge. And he said that he’d had faith in his ultimate self, but he’d never been pushed hard enough to prove that his faith was justified. “I could always hear my best self clearing his throat in the room next door.” But he never knew if this self was able to come in when needed. It turns out, he did. I love that quote and I love this story because I think many of us are uncertain about just how capable we are. Maybe a couple times in your life, all hell will break loose. And your best self will have to stop his coughing, and come say hello.