When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the Guinness Book of World Records, and I really wanted to set a world record myself. But there was just one small problem: I had absolutely no talent. So I decided to set a world record in something that demanded absolutely no skill at all. I decided to set a world record in crawling.
Ko sem bila otrok, sem bila obsedena z Guinnessovo knjigo rekordov, in resnično sem tudi sama želela postaviti rekord. Obstajal je samo en majhen problem: imela nisem absolutno nobenega talenta. Zato sem se odločila postaviti rekord v nečem, kar ni zahtevalo popolnoma nobene veščine. Odločila sem se, da postavim rekord v plazenju.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
Now, the record at the time was 12 and a half miles, and for some reason, this seemed totally manageable.
Takrat je rekord znašal 20km, in to se mi je zdelo čisto izvedljivo.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
I recruited my friend Anne, and together we decided, we didn't even need to train.
Rekrutirala sem prijateljico Anne in skupaj sva se odločili, da nama niti ni treba trenirati.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
And on the day of our record attempt, we put furniture pads on the outside of our good luck jeans and we set off, and right away, we were in trouble, because the denim was against our skin and it began to chafe, and soon our knees were being chewed up. Hours in, it began to rain. Then, Anne dropped out. Then, it got dark. Now, by now, my knees were bleeding through my jeans, and I was hallucinating from the cold and the pain and the monotony. And to give you an idea of the suffer-fest that I was undergoing, the first lap around the high school track took 10 minutes. The last lap took almost 30.
Na dan najinega poskusa podiranja rekorda sva na svoje srečne kavbojke nalepili filc in se odpravili, in že takoj so se pojavile težave, ker se je denim drgnil on najino kožo in se začel cefrati, in najina kolena so bila kmalu oguljena. Po nekaj urah je začelo deževati. Potem je Anne odstopila. Potem je postalo temno. Torej, sedaj so moja kolena krvavela skozi moje kavbojke, in imela sem privide zaradi hladu in bolečine in monotonije. In če vam poizkusim pričarati občutek trpljenja, ki sem ga prestajala, prvi krog okoli šolske proge sem naredila v desetih minutah. Za zadnjega sem potrebovala skoraj pol ure.
After 12 hours of crawling, I stopped, and I had gone eight and a half miles. So I was short of the 12-and-a-half-mile record.
Po dvanajstih urah plazenja, sem se ustavila, in preplazila sem 13,5 km. Torej nisem uspela podreti 20 km dolgega rekorda.
Now, for many years, I thought this was a story of abject failure, but today I see it differently, because when I was attempting the world record, I was doing three things. I was getting outside my comfort zone, I was calling upon my resilience, and I was finding confidence in myself and my own decisions. I didn't know it then, but those are not the attributes of failure. Those are the attributes of bravery.
Veliko let sem mislila, da je to zgodba o popolnem polomu, ampak danes na to gledam drugače, ker ko sem poizkušala postaviti svetovni rekord, sem delala tri stvari, podajala sem se izven svoje cone udobja, uporabila sem svojo trmo, in našla sem zaupanje vase in svoje odločitve. Takrat tega nisem vedela, ampak to niso lastnosti neuspeha. To so lastnosti poguma.
Now, in 1989, at the age of 26, I became a San Francisco firefighter, and I was the 15th woman in a department of 1,500 men.
Leta 1989, pri starosti 26 let, sem postala gasilka v San Franciscu, in bila sem petnajsta ženska v oddelku s 1500 moškimi.
(Applause)
(Aplavz)
And as you can imagine, when I arrived there were many doubts about whether we could do the job. So even though I was a 5'10", 150-pound collegiate rower, and someone who could endure 12 hours of searing knee pain --
Lahko si predstavljate, ko sem prišla, jih je veliko dvomilo, da bom lahko opravljala službo. Čeprav sem bila 178 cm visoka, 70 kilogramov težka akademska veslačica, in nekdo, ki lahko prenese 12 ur neznosne bolečine v kolenih -
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
I knew I still had to prove my strength and fitness.
sem vedela, da moram svojo moč in pripravljenost še dokazati.
So one day a call came in for a fire, and sure enough, when my engine group pulled up, there was black smoke billowing from a building off an alleyway. And I was with a big guy named Skip, and he was on the nozzle, and I was right behind, and it was a typical sort of fire. It was smoky, it was hot, and all of a sudden, there was an explosion, and Skip and I were blown backwards, my mask was knocked sideways, and there was this moment of confusion. And then I picked myself up, I groped for the nozzle, and I did what a firefighter was supposed to do: I lunged forward, opened up the water and I tackled the fire myself. The explosion had been caused by a water heater, so nobody was hurt, and ultimately it was not a big deal, but later Skip came up to me and said, "Nice job, Caroline," in this surprised sort of voice.
Nekega dne smo dobili klic za požar, in seveda, ko je naš avto prispel, se je iz hiše v ulici že valil črn dim. Delala sem z velikim možakom po imenu Skip, on je bil na ročki, jaz pa takoj za njim, in bil je tipičen požar. Bilo je polno dima, bilo je vroče, in kar naenkrat je prišlo do eksplozije. Mene in Skipa je odneslo nazaj, mojo masko je izbilo na stran, obstala sva v trenutku zmedenosti. In potem sem se pobrala, zagrabila ročko, in naredila, kar bi moral narediti vsak gasilec: Pognala sem se naprej, odprla vodo in se sama borila z ognjem. Eksplozijo je povzročil grelnik vode, tako da nihče ni bil poškodovan, in konec koncev ni bilo, ne vem kaj, ampak kasneje je Skip prišel do mene in rekel: "Dobro opravljeno, Caroline," s tem presenečenim glasom.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
And I was confused, because the fire hadn't been difficult physically, so why was he looking at me with something like astonishment? And then it became clear: Skip, who was by the way a really nice guy and an excellent firefighter, not only thought that women could not be strong, he thought that they could not be brave either. And he wasn't the only one. Friends, acquaintances and strangers, men and women throughout my career ask me over and over, "Caroline, all that fire, all that danger, aren't you scared?" Honestly, I never heard a male firefighter asked this. And I became curious. Why wasn't bravery expected of women?
Bila sem zmedena, ker požar ni bil fizično zahteven, zakaj me je potem gledal tako presenečeno? In potem mi je postalo jasno: Skip, ki je bil mimogrede res super fant, in odličen gasilec, ne samo, da je mislil, da ženske ne morejo biti močne, mislil je tudi, da ne morejo biti pogumne. In ni bil edini. Prijatelji, znanci in tujci, moški in ženske skozi celotno mojo kariero so me venomer spraševali: "Caroline, ves ta ogenj, vsa ta nevarnost, se nič ne bojiš?" Odkrito povedano, nikoli nisem slišala, da bi kdo to vprašal moškega gasilca. In postala sem zvedava. Zakaj se od žensk ne pričakuje poguma?
Now, the answer began to come when a friend of mine lamented to me that her young daughter was a big scaredy-cat, and so I began to notice, and yes, the daughter was anxious, but more than that, the parents were anxious. Most of what they said to her when she was outside began with, "Be careful," "Watch out," or "No." Now, my friends were not bad parents. They were just doing what most parents do, which is cautioning their daughters much more than they caution their sons.
No, odgovor se je pojavil, ko mi je prijateljica zaupala, da je njena hčerka ena velika boječka, in tako sem začela opažati, in da, njena hči je bila prestrašena, vendar še huje, njena starša sta bila prestrašena. Večina izrečenega, ko je bila zunaj, se je začelo z: "Bodi previdna", "Pazi" ali "Ne." Moja prijatelja nista bila slaba starša. Delala sta samo tisto, kar počne večina staršev, veliko večkrat opozarjajo svojo hčerke, kot opozarjajo svoje sinove.
There was a study involving a playground fire pole, ironically, in which researchers saw that little girls were very likely to be warned by both their moms and dads about the fire pole's risk, and if the little girls still wanted to play on the fire pole, a parent was very likely to assist her. But the little boys? They were encouraged to play on the fire pole despite any trepidations that they might have, and often the parents offered guidance on how to use it on their own. So what message does this send to both boys and girls? Well, that girls are fragile and more in need of help, and that boys can and should master difficult tasks by themselves. It says that girls should be fearful and boys should be gutsy.
Narejena je bila študija, ki je, ironično, vključevala gasilski drog na igrišču, v kateri so raziskovalci ugotovili, da bodo deklice zelo verjetno opozorjene s strani tako mam kot očetov na nevarnosti uporabe droga, in če so si deklice vseeno želele igrati na gasilskem drogu, je bilo zelo verjetno, da ji bo starš pri tem pomagal. Kaj pa fantki? Spodbujali so jih, naj se igrajo na drogu, kljub strahu, ki so ga morda imeli, in pogosto so starši ponudili nasvet, kako naj ga samostojno uporabljajo. Kakšno sporočilo to pošilja fantom in dekletom? No, da so dekleta krhka in bolj potrebujejo pomoč, in da fantje lahko in morajo obvladovati težke naloge brez pomoči. Sporoča, da naj bodo dekleta boječa in naj bodo fantje pogumni.
Now, the irony is that at this young age, girls and boys are actually very alike physically. In fact, girls are often stronger until puberty, and more mature. And yet we adults act as if girls are more fragile and more in need of help, and they can't handle as much. This is the message that we absorb as kids, and this is the message that fully permeates as we grow up. We women believe it, men believe it, and guess what? As we become parents, we pass it on to our children, and so it goes.
Ironija je, da so pri tej starosti deklice in fantje fizično precej podobni. Pravzaprav, deklice so pogosto močnejše do pubertete, in bolj zrele. In vendar se mi odrasli vedemo, kot da so deklice bolj krhke in bolj potrebne pomoči, in niso tako sposobne. To je sporočilo, ki smo ga dobili kot otroci, in to je sporočilo, ki nas popolnoma prežema, ko odraščamo. Me ženske mu verjamemo, moški mu verjamejo, in veste kaj? Ko postanemo starši, ga prenesemo na naše otroke, in tako gre naprej.
Well, so now I had my answer. This is why women, even firewomen, were expected to be scared. This is why women often are scared.
Tako, sedaj sem imela svoj odgovor. Zaradi tega se od žensk, tudi gasilk, pričakuje, da jih bo strah. Zaradi tega ženske tudi pogosto je strah.
Now, I know some of you won't believe me when I tell you this, but I am not against fear. I know it's an important emotion, and it's there to keep us safe. But the problem is when fear is the primary reaction that we teach and encourage in girls whenever they face something outside their comfort zone.
Vem, da mi nekateri ne boste verjeli, ko vam bom to povedala, ampak jaz ne nasprotujem strahu. Vem, da je pomembno čustvo, in skrbi, da smo varni. Problem nastane, ko strah postane primarni odziv, ki ga učimo in spodbujamo pri dekletih, ko se soočijo z nečim izven njihove cone udobja.
So I was a paraglider pilot for many years --
Veliko let sem bila jadralna padalka -
(Applause)
(Aplavz)
and a paraglider is a parachute-like wing, and it does fly very well, but to many people I realize it looks just like a bedsheet with strings attached.
in jadralno padalo je samo vrsta padala in leti zelo dobro, ampak zavedam se, da se marsikomu zdi kot kakšna rjuha s pritrjenimi vrvicami.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
And I spent a lot of time on mountaintops inflating this bedsheet, running off and flying. And I know what you're thinking. You're like, Caroline, a little fear would make sense here. And you're right, it does. I assure you, I did feel fear. But on that mountaintop, waiting for the wind to come in just right, I felt so many other things, too: exhilaration, confidence. I knew I was a good pilot. I knew the conditions were good, or I wouldn't be there. I knew how great it was going to be a thousand feet in the air. So yes, fear was there, but I would take a good hard look at it, assess just how relevant it was and then put it where it belonged, which was more often than not behind my exhilaration, my anticipation and my confidence. So I'm not against fear. I'm just pro-bravery.
Veliko časa sem preživela na vrhovih gora, napihovala to rjuho, se pognala po klancu in letela. In vem, kaj si mislite. Mislite, Caroline, malo strahu ti ne bi škodilo. In prav imate, res mi ne bi. Zagotavljam vam, občutila sem strah. Ampak na tem vrhu gore, čakajoča na ravno pravi veter, sem občutila tudi veliko drugega: navdušenje, samozavest. Vedela sem, da sem dobra pilotka. Vedela sem, da so pogoji dobri, drugače ne bi bila tam. Vedela sem, kako super bo leteti stotine metrov nad tlemi. Ja, strah je bil prisoten, vendar sem ga dobro pogledala, ocenila, koliko je dejansko pomemben in ga potem pospravila kamor sodi, ki je bil večkrat kot ne za mojim navdušenjem, mojim pričakovanjem in mojo samozavestjo. Torej, nimam nič proti strahu. Jaz sem samo za pogum.
Now, I'm not saying your girls must be firefighters or that they should be paragliders, but I am saying that we are raising our girls to be timid, even helpless, and it begins when we caution them against physical risk. The fear we learn and the experiences we don't stay with us as we become women and morphs into all those things that we face and try to shed: our hesitation in speaking out, our deference so that we can be liked and our lack of confidence in our own decisions.
Ne pravim, da bi vaše deklice morale postati gasilke, ali da bi morale postati jadralne padalke, pravim, da naše deklice vzgajamo, da bodo pohlevne, celo nebogljene, in začne se, ko jih opozarjamo o fizičnem tveganju. Strah, ki se ga naučimo, in izkušnje, ki se jih ne, ostanejo z nami, ko postanemo ženske in se prelevi v vse te stvari, s katerimi se soočamo in se jih poizkušamo otresti: naše oklevanje pri izražanju mnenja, naše priklanjanje, da bi nas imeli radi in naše pomanjkanje samozavesti pri sprejemanju odločitev.
So how do we become brave? Well, here's the good news. Bravery is learned, and like anything learned, it just needs to be practiced. So first, we have to take a deep breath and encourage our girls to skateboard, climb trees and clamber around on that playground fire pole. This is what my own mother did. She didn't know it then, but researchers have a name for this. They call it risky play, and studies show that risky play is really important for kids, all kids, because it teaches hazard assessment, it teaches delayed gratification, it teaches resilience, it teaches confidence. In other words, when kids get outside and practice bravery, they learn valuable life lessons.
Kako torej postanemo pogumne? Imam dobro novico. Poguma se lahko naučimo, in kot vsako naučeno stvar, ga je potrebno vaditi. Najprej, moramo globoko zajeti zrak in spodbujati naša dekleta, naj rolkajo, plezajo po drevesih se zvirajo po tistem gasilskem drogu na igrišču. To je počela moja mama. Takrat tega ni vedela, ampak raziskovalci imajo ime za to. Temu pravijo tvegana igra, in študije kažejo, da je tvegana igra zelo pomembna za otroke, vse otroke, ker uči ocenjevanje nevarnosti, uči zakasnjeno nagrajevanje, uči vztrajnost, uči samozavest. Z drugimi besedami, ko gredo otroci ven in vadijo pogum, se naučijo pomembne življenjske nauke.
Second, we have to stop cautioning our girls willy-nilly. So notice next time you say, "Watch out, you're going to get hurt," or, "Don't do that, it's dangerous." And remember that often what you're really telling her is that she shouldn't be pushing herself, that she's really not good enough, that she should be afraid.
Drugič, zavestno moramo prenehati opozarjati naše deklice. Pazite, ko naslednjič rečete: "Pazi, poškodovala se boš," ali: "Ne počni tega, nevarno je." In zapomnite si, da ji pogosto s tem govorite, da se ne bi smela boriti, da pravzaprav ni dovolj dobra, da bi jo moralo biti strah.
Third, we women have to start practicing bravery, too. We cannot teach our girls until we teach ourselves. So here's another thing: fear and exhilaration feel very similar -- the shaky hands, the heightened heart rate, the nervous tension, and I'm betting that for many of you the last time you thought you were scared out of your wits, you may have been feeling mostly exhilaration, and now you've missed an opportunity. So practice. And while girls should be getting outside to learn to be gutsy, I get that adults don't want to get on hoverboards or climb trees, so we all should be practicing at home, in the office and even right here getting up the guts to talk to someone that you really admire.
Tretjič, tudi me ženske moramo začeti vaditi pogum. Ne moremo naučiti svojih deklet, dokler ne naučimo sebe. Zato je tu še ena stvar: strah in navdušenje občutimo zelo podobno - tresoče roke, povišan utrip srca, živčna napetost, in upam staviti, da je veliko od vas nazadnje, ko ste mislile, da se boste zgrudile od strahu, večinoma čutilo vznemirjenje, in sedaj ste zamudile priložnost. Torej vadite. In medtem ko naj bi šle punce ven in se učile poguma, mi je jasno, da odrasli nočejo voziti hoverbordov in plezati po drevesih, zato bi morali mi vsi vaditi doma, v pisarni in celo prav tukaj, zbrati pogum in ogovoriti nekoga, ki ga res občudujete.
Finally, when your girl is, let's say, on her bike on the top of the steep hill that she insists she's too scared to go down, guide her to access her bravery. Ultimately, maybe that hill really is too steep, but she'll come to that conclusion through courage, not fear. Because this is not about the steep hill in front of her. This is about the life ahead of her and that she has the tools to handle and assess all the dangers that we cannot protect her from, all the challenges that we won't be there to guide her through, everything that our girls here and around the world face in their future.
In končno, ko je vaše dekle recimo na kolesu na vrhu strmega klanca, kjer vztraja, da jo je preveč strah, da bi se spustila, ji pomagajte, da bo našla svoj pogum. Na koncu je klanec mogoče res preveč strm, ampak do tega spoznanja bo prišla skozi pogum in ne strah. Ker ne gre za strm klanec pred njo. Gre za življenje pred njo in da ima orodja, da ga obvlada in oceni vsa tveganja, pred katerimi je ne moremo obvarovati, vse izzive, pri katerih ji ne bomo mogli pomagati, vse, kar dekleta tu in okoli sveta doživijo v prihodnosti.
So by the way, the world record for crawling today --
Še mimogrede, današnji svetovni rekord v plazenju -
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
is 35.18 miles, and I would really love to see a girl go break that.
je 56,6 km, in res bi bila vesela, če bi ga dekle podrlo.
(Applause)
(Aplavz)