Why You Are Free To Jump
I remember standing next to the diving block, staring down at the strong smelly pool water, and being scared out of my mind.
There was no way I was going to jump in.
I could see some of my school friends taking the leap next to me, but they were so much taller that me. (I’m only 5 feet tall now, imagine how small I was when I was 7 years old.) They were more experienced, had stronger arms…and besides I couldn’t stand getting water up my nose either.
I remember stepping up onto the block and the teacher cajoling me from the side of the pool. “Jump!” he cried out.
And then a thought occurred to me.
Ok, I’ll jump. But I’ll jump as close to the edge as I can, so I can hold on to the side of the pool. That way there’s no way that I’ll drown.
I closed my eyes and threw my tiny body off the diving block, aiming for the edge…
Next thing I knew I was being pulled from the water, a mouth filled with blood, while one of my precious little teeth floated away to the bottom of the pool.
That day I learnt some valuable lessons about leaping into the unknown.
- Lesson #1 : Expecting something dreadful to happen, usually makes it pretty damn certain that something dreadful is going to happen.
- Lesson #2: Forget your excuses – you don’t need to know how to swim to be free to jump. Just get the hang of floating first.
- Lesson #3: Ironically it’s safer to jump where the water is deepest.
- Lesson #3: Don’t half leap into something, thinking you have a back up plan when things go wrong. If you’re going to jump, just bloody well do it.
- Lesson #4: Have faith – because even if you have nothing to put under your pillow, the Tooth Fairy still rocks up. Awesome.
So tell me, what’s stopping you from jumping in at the deep end?
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Or you can ask yourself what do I need to jump? Or what will it take for me to jump? Is it a comforting hand to hold, strong and supportive words of encouragement, reducing the risk, or knowing more about what is at the bottom of the deep end…..
jo-living savvy´s last blog ..Living Savvy: gratitude, a summer hiatus and looking ahead
Excellent comment! I love the idea of visualising something you really want at the bottom of the water… (They do an exercise at my daughter’s swimming lessons where she has to plunge herself under the water and retrieve a toy from the bottom. The look of triumph on her little face when she reappears at the surface, grasping her toy, is enough motivation for me!)
Hi Natalie! First time I’m stopping by and I have to say I really like your blog. We have lots in common!
One of the big things I’ve found is that when my why is big enough the how to’s seem to take care of themselves. It doesn’t mean I don’t still get scared to death (even when I go to push “publish” on my blog posts) But for me it’s always easiest to look at why I decided to jump in the first place and focus on the result or experience I said I desired. I know when I haven’t taken action it’s because of exactly what you said, I fear the worst, (And I’ll be damned if the worst didn’t happen?!)
I commented earlier on a friends blog with a similar insight which seems appropriate for here as well. Write down what you don’t want in your life then right down the exact opposite of it next to those points. It’s a lot easier and may help you get clarity (A better picture in your mind) of what you “do” want so that it’s what you picture last and act on first.
Love your work, I’ll be stopping by from time to time
Tony Teegarden´s last blog ..My Perspective On Your Perspective
Exactly Tony – when we have a compelling enough ‘why’, so many of the details seem to fall into place. And even when things go wrong, having the courage to leap is still worth celebrating…
)
Welcome! (and thank you for the compliments too
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thekla_richter
February 9, 2010 at 4:54 pm
Great post! I started cringing when I read the thought you had about jumping as close to the edge as possible… already starting to sense what happened next.
Another thing to consider in situations like this is that there are always other ways to get in the water if you’re not willing to jump just yet. I agree that half-leaping is a terrible plan. But you can also put your feet in first and ease yourself in, or go to the shallow end to walk down the steps and then swim over to the deep water at your own pace… etc. Or you can decide that it’s not time to jump just yet. But whatever you decide to do, decide firmly and with your whole heart… because half-way choices do indeed lead to blood and pain a lot of the time.
Thekla Richter´s last blog ..Sprint Through the Small Stuff
Twitter: taranicholle
February 11, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Wow. Who told you what I needed to hear today?
This reminded me of a story I once heard Winton Marsalis tell. His father, a musician, told him not to become a musician. But, his Dad said, if you DO decide to become one, don’t have a backup plan to fall back on. Because if you have one, you will fall back.
And that has been my experience. So, this year, I’ve decided to release the backup plans, double down, go all in, etc. This is me jumping into the deep end folks – see you there!
I love this post – beautifully written and so well stated. I’m a Life Coach and am bookmarking it to pass on to fearful clients as inspriation.
Thanks for your lovely blog!
Melinda´s last blog ..Valentine’s Day for the Rest of Us