You're not stuck. You are just afraid to jump.

You know you have a problem, but you don’t know how to solve it.
You feel like you should have it all figured out by now.
You have tried everything. Nothing seems to work.

The sensation of being lost, being stuck and not knowing what to do, is deeply painful.

You run around looking for something… anything that might help you.

You try to solve a problem, which, from your current perspective, seems impossible.

So how do you solve it?

You either grow complacent and box yourself in… or realize that the answers you seek require growth and new perspectives.

But where do you start?

You’ve heard it before: “Step outside of your comfort zone”

You know you can’t solve your problems with the tools and perspectives you have.
So you start looking for new answers.

One way to illustrate this journey is with the familiar ever-expanding
circles as seen in the figure below. (You have likely seen something similar before.)

Expressions like “thinking outside the box”, or
“stepping outside of your comfort zone” are all
examples, trying to communicate the same thing.

There is something outside of where you are, and
in order to find that something… you have to “go there”.

No one is coming to save you.
No one can do it for you.
You have to “go there”.

You have to find the answers to your problem.

Often you are encourage to grow. Read more books, talk to more people, learn something new ask new questions and practice, in order to expand and reach new “heights” (as the saying goes).

But what do you do when it feels like you are on an island and have nowhere to go?

Why is it so hard to “go there”?

Everyone is telling you to grow and to improve.
Everyone is telling you to step outside of your comfort zone.

What no one is telling you though, is that this is not just
a walk across a narrow line, as in the figure above.

This is a jump off a cliff like the figure below.

That is why it is so hard.

You can’t see where you are going.
You don’t know where you will land.
You have to leave something behind.

Few of us can jump off a cliff without seeing the bottom.
You are not evolved to do that. That’s why it is so hard.

You also go from a place of knowing every details of
your familiar world, to suddenly be a stranger in a new realm.

This is a difficult process for some people.

Some people have no problem jumping. They try, test and trust the universe.
Some people never dare to take the leap (which they might regret later).

An important point to notice here though, is Never(!) judge anyone!

Don’t be fooled by the symmetry of the 3D-figure above.
We all have different heights to different stages of our growth and expansion.

A small step for me might be a canyon for you, and the other way around.
Don’t judge anyone for not jumping. That includes yourself.

Never judge!

I don’t know if I dare to jump. What do I do?

It is easy to sit here and write that you should take a leap of faith and see where you land.
But I didn’t do that, so why should I tell you to do it.

For a very long time, I didn’t dare to jump.
I was running around wasting energy and looking for answers.

Eventually, Life decided to push me off the cliff instead. And I landed badly.
Obviously, I had waited too long to jump and now I’m grateful for life’s intervention.

You don’t have to wait for that moment. Waiting too long might be painful.
But we also know that there is a danger in doing things too early.

Birds jump from the nests when they are ready.
Not when they are too young and not when they are too old.

Life breaks out of the egg, when life is ready.
Breaking it too early and whatever is inside is killed.
Not breaking it at all, also means something has gone wrong.

I have long thought about this window of opportunity.

When is the right time for action?

I think the short answer is, “listen to your body” and
there is a reason behind that statement.

When we are babies… how many times do we fall before we can walk, run or jump?”

You rarely meet a newborn who can run within a month.
You rarely meet a ten-year-old who can only crawl.

There is a timing for when we learn to
walk, talk and grow so that we can experience more aspects of the world.

Not every child learn to walk at the exact same age.
There is a window of opportunity when we just know… it is time.

You are curious to explore.
You feel stuck and frustrated.
Pushed and pulled by life, we expand, stumble and grow.

When we are babies, we are quite similar.
In our thirties, we are much more different.
The same principle applies, I’d say:

• When you feel stuck and frustrated → it’s time to jump!

• When you are curious to explore → it’s time to jump!

Don’t be afraid to jump… and don’t be afraid to fall.

Sometimes, a leap of faith is the only way forward

Life pushed me out of my comfort zone.
You can jump out of yours.

In order to gain a deeper understanding… sometimes
you need to fall onto that deeper layer of understanding.

Once there, you can then use this new foundation, to build new knowledge and
forge new connections.

With new perspectives, you begin to feel free again.
You start to see solutions, not just different angels on the problem.

I can’t tell you what you’ll find or where you’ll land.
But I know this: if you want different results, sometimes you need you need to take a different path.

Don’t wait for life to push you.
If you choose when to leap, you’re far more likely to land on your feet.

I encourage you to take responsibility and action.
But do so with care, with curiosity and with courage.

Let your curiosity guide you.
Listen to your frustration.
Don’t be afraid to jump.
Trust that you’ll land.
And above all → never judge.
Not others and especially not yourself.

Want to learn more about me?
Send med a DM on LinkedIn

Take care until next time!
Daniel - The Talking Bridge

Ps. Music Motivation: “What If” by Cody Fry