A few years ago as I was hanging in a black line, my head upside down, I couldn’t help myself. I had to start laughing as I realized how ridiculous I looked. People were standing on the ground looking at me, dangling completely helpless – surrendered to the situation. I got down, landed on my back, and life went on. I was proud.
5 minutes, or what felt like an eternity, before that the rope was secured around my waist. It was all or nothing. Move, or face the consequence of being proclaimed “chicken…” It was a company event during the spring and the weather was great. Every last one of the participants was in high spirit. And now, we had to stretch ourselves.
I realized that I could either go back in or move out over the edge, and no one would push me either way. Life is like that, we often times come up with different stories on why we have not yet succeeded. “I can’t win because X” or “I cannot complete this course because my train leaves two hours before the scheduled agenda,” or whatever it is… The stories we tell ourselves are endless in number and incredibly disempowering.
The fact of the matter is that we always have a choice, and it’s a lot easier for us to hallucinate about the opposite. If we had no choice, the decision to not live a fulfilling life was not ours, so we are not at fault for not achieving our dreams; the world is! Whether it is about the sucky job we have, the fact that we’re not with the woman of our dreams, or that we don’t have enough money in the bank account to lead the life we really want is not our fault. It’s because our bosses do not appreciate us, it’s because women are drawn to assholes, or it’s because the market is bad. It’s not OUR fault!
So, there I was, hanging upside down, laughing my ass off. I was feeling great, feeling alive knowing that when I faced the choice I may have hesitated at first but, in the end I played full out. I was proud.
My options were limited but, at least they were mine. And I was proud of choosing to expand my horizon instead of coming up with limiting excuses.
I hate to burst your bubble… It IS our fault, if we are not getting what we want. You see, you CAN get a new job in which you will feel challenged and in contribution, you CAN get the woman of your dreams without acting like someone you’re not, and it IS possible to short-trade stock in a downward market.
All you need to do is ask yourself the question you have not yet asked yourself – [… … …… …… ?] – Yeah, that’s the question!
Now, let’s go rappelling!
Add A Comment