"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.." ~Albert Einstein
A "giant" is a move in gymnastics involving a complete rotation on the high bar. It is one of the most difficult fundamental skills that gymnasts learn, and once mastered, it looks elegant and almost effortless. Sure, there is a high degree of strength and body control necessary for its execution, but the only way that a giant is ever completed is through fully committing to the movement. The gymnast must create enough force to reach the tipping point at the top of the swing, while remaining patient until they arrive there. Not giving enough energy or quitting too soon will always result in failure.
There are numerous parallels to be made between the high bar and life's own struggles. More often than not, we prefer the comforts of under-commitment. This feels safer. Nothing is on the line. We are in control of the variables. Failures are kept to a minimum. And this is exactly where we will stay until one of two things occur. We either get inspired to commit more fully, or we get forced to.
The struggles that we skirt now will inevitably return to us later. Continued procrastination only builds stronger enemies. Strategic avoidance is one thing, but avoidance out of fear is quite another. Fear is the primary impediment to commitment and, by extension, to transformation. If we are able to see that fear is only a hollow wrapping that surrounds growth, then we can use fear as a signal that alerts us--that prepares us for what lies ahead.
Challenge comes in all shapes and sizes. One definition of life is the ability to respond to the challenges of our environment and meet our needs. I believe that everyone has a deep need to learn and grow. If we fail to choose the direction that this learning will take, then it will be forced upon us one way or another.
Though it may not feel safe to commit to the tipping point at first, once we have felt it for the first time, the following iterations become easier. It opens a window into the next realm of possibility. And then another and another. There are no limits to our learning. We need only to be open to trying new things and abandoning the things that do not work--a skill that takes a lifetime to master.
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