You know those people who are constantly putting themselves out there? Who go after what they want no matter what other people thing and no matter what the odds are of them achieving their dream and no matter how much it might hurt if things go wrong? I've never been one of those people. And I say never because I found photo proof of that fact last weekend.
Meet me circa 1987 at swimming lessons.
Now, the way this was supposed to work was that my teacher was in the water to be sure I didn't drown. And I was simply supposed to go and jump off the diving board. You may be confused by there being two people on the diving board. That would be a second swimming teacher who had to go out to the edge with me and drop me off the board. Why you might ask?
Because I was afraid to jump. I was not afraid of landing. I was not afraid that I would drown. I was not afraid of walking to the end of the board. But I was scared to death of the actual jumping part.
As I looked at these pictures, I knew....this fear applies to so much more than just swimming lessons. I'm afraid to jump in life too. Why? Because I'm afraid of failure. And of rejection. And of looking like an idiot.
But you know.....that's really no way to live my life. So from now on, I'm going to do my best to be a jumper. To just DO and see what happens. Why not? Let's just hope I can still swim....
As I looked at these pictures, I knew....this fear applies to so much more than just swimming lessons. I'm afraid to jump in life too. Why? Because I'm afraid of failure. And of rejection. And of looking like an idiot.
But you know.....that's really no way to live my life. So from now on, I'm going to do my best to be a jumper. To just DO and see what happens. Why not? Let's just hope I can still swim....
6 comments:
Two thumbs up for this post. Very insightful. You're more of a jumper than you give yourself credit for though. Not everyone would hop on a plane last minute to spend their birthday out of state. Some would never take a job for the summer in a big city in a different part of the country. You jump. But you take calculated jumps, which is a good thing. You're a thinker-jumper.
-College Roomie
PS - Jumping is NOT to be taken in the literal sense in most instances. Particularly when you're running across the Golden Gate Bridge. Right?
Fear is one of my biggest struggles, too. I have to work on taking my fears captive very regularly! :)
I agree with college roomie...you are most definitely more of a jumper than you think.
Now, take me for example, my biggest thing isn't jumping off the diving board it's that I am afraid I won't come back up,even though I know I can swim. Anaylze that.
Love, BOKG!
Our personalities are very similar. Sometimes I have to remind myself to live and not be so worried about failure. :)
Marla @ www.blueskiesphotoblog.com
Thanks for stopping by my blog! Love the quote in your post today.
Have a great week!
I thought about this blog post the other day as I was making a mental list of some of the things that I have tried out in my life, and many of which have failed or simply didn't pay off for my efforts. And it made me realize that although many of them wouldn't be a tick in the win column, I am proud of myself for trying. I regret the things I didn't try because I was too afraid. I don't want to sit back and watch my life pass me by. Which is why my goal is to live my life, and not let my life live me.
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