Change requires letting go of the familiar.
Although I have 27 distinct and cute coffee cups to choose from, I rotate between three familiar and well loved mugs for my early morning coffee.
- Apparently I run the dishwasher every third day.
I like what I like…but wouldn’t you know I BROKE one while taking the picture. HAH!
There is an art to embracing new experiences. I would argue that letting go of the familiar is a discipline that has to be learned and cultivated.
Trapeze artists astound me.
Their ability to let go, fly into the unknown, and grasp onto whatever comes their way is inspiring. An extreme amount of faith is required to let go of everything you know, throw your whole being into the unknown, and trust that something is going to come along even when there is nothing to grasp onto when you let go of all you know.
- In order to fly, you must let go…
Life is like a trapeze.
You are the artist and how you perform is based on how much you let go and keep getting up after you fall. The road to becoming a successful life artist is full of fear, falls, and abrupt, face first meetings with the earth.
Swinging doesn’t lead to flying.
If you don’t let go and reach through the nothingness in front of you, you will never get anything more than a severe case of motion sickness. While flying through the unknown chasms in life, stretching is required to reach the opportunities coming your way.
Sometimes, no matter how much you stretch, you find yourself hitting the earth with a giant *thud*. No one executes a perfect double backflip their first time on the trapeze.
Develop perseverance and discipline to stand up and brush yourself off, heal from your hurts, and try again and again and again.
Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
- Yesterday’s fears will quickly become today’s comfort zone.
Living outside your comfort zone can actually become a comfortable place to live. My most uncomfortable moments of stretching and leaping out into the void have created the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences of my life. Feeling the fear and doing it anyways has created a bigger and fuller life for me to live in.
Apparently I am drinking my coffee out of a different mug tomorrow morning.
No judging! Starting small never hurt anyone.
trapeze looks like such a great workout! I would love to try it once. I’m so sorry that you broke one of your mugs. I love the short but fat ones the best! I only found one in my life though and use it everyday! haha
Short, fat mugs rock! I will drink up out of a very squat and fabulous mug tomorrow morning. I am so glad I am not the only one who uses the same mug over and over AND over. 🙂
I love the trapeze analogy and you’re so right, Donloree. Living outside your comfort zone can be incredibly rewarding.
The letting go can actually become easier, but it takes some severe discipline to learn! 😀
Funny, years ago I was making a business decision — the decision to start my own business. At the 11th hour I changed my mind and decided to stay working at the gym I was employed at. I called my brother to tell him and he responded simply by saying, “if you leap, the net will appear”.
That was the best advice I ever recieved. I leapt, and 13 years later I’m still self-employed and loving it. But the point is, I learned to leap on that day 13 years ago and have been leaping ever since — and I’ve gotten quite good at it. Business decisions, personal fitness goals outside my normal box, friendships — so many things are worth leaping for…
The net does appear and oftentimes we don’t even need it. I am so glad you leapt 13 years ago and never stopped, amazing!