Tunnels of Transition

It has occurred to me that life transition is like a tunnel. It can be a dark place, and when you first step into it, what is behind you is much easier to see than what lies ahead. Keep moving.

As you move forward, it actually gets darker. Let your eyes adjust, though and you will see things you couldn’t make out before. You will likely find it’s not nearly as scary as you thought it was. Keep moving.

As you move through the tunnel the light coming from the other end begins to grow and is actually now clearer and easier to make out than the light behind you. Keep moving.

As you emerge into the light you find yourself in new surroundings beholding things you couldn’t possibly have seen from the other side. You find yourself once again standing in the full light of day, with the sun warming your face, able to move in any direction you please.

The tunnel of transition can at once be thrilling and terrifying but it is in fact the ONLY way to arrive at your intended destination. Don’t fear it; embrace it. As you take that first step into the darkness you can do so with the knowledge that no matter how long this tunnel may be, and no matter what snakes or spiders may be waiting in the darkness, you will emerge on the other side to a bright new day…if you don’t stall in the tunnel. So goes the journey. Keep moving.

Longshots

Let's face it. In America, we love an underdog who gets their day. Hoosiers, Seabiscuit, Rudy, Rocky...the list goes on and on. These are movies that cause otherwise rational and reserved people to cry, applaud and cheer in public. I am not ashamed to admit that I am one of these people.  And so it was, as I was watching the Disney movie, Dreamer, that I had an epiphany. Every amazing "longshot" tale begins with a situation that looks utterly hopeless. 

Think about it. Before there can be the cheers of victory there has to be a very real threat of defeat. After all, if there were nothing to overcome in the first place, the experience would have no element of struggle. And it's in the struggle, uncomfortable though it be, that the victory is being shaped. Indeed, the struggle is directly proportionate to the potential outcome. Simply stated, small obstacles lead to small victories, but giant obstacles can precede tales of glory.

Every great thing that has been done had the potential to end very badly. And the trick of it is that people who do great things seldom know they are doing great things. They are simply going through it. 

We all want that amazing moment of victory, but every such moment begins with a decision to look seemingly insurmountable odds in the face and continue to move forward. The journey from a time of difficulty to that triumphant moment when everyone cheers begins with a decision to risk catastrophic failure. When we are willing to risk it all we stand to gain more than we have imagined.

Crossing Bridges

So there I was, bike over body, lying in the rocky and mercifully dry creek bed. How I got there is a bit embarrassing, but for the benefit of all I will share.

I was doing a little mountain bike trail riding with some friends last Saturday. An innocent enough venture for someone who has ridden a bike as much as I have. But as I approached the little wooden bridge, I hesitated, lost my momentum, and, focusing on the side that I did NOT want to ride off of, proceeded to do exactly that! My friends heard a grunt of sorts and turned around to see a bike tire and a foot rising up from the gully below!

Do I just like to tell self-deprecating stories? No, not really. It was sometime afterward as I was nursing some very minor injuries that the teachable moment struck me and the lessons began to unfold.

1) Momentum lost through hesitation can be nearly impossible to recover.

As I rounded the curve in the trail that led to the bridge, I slowed...let's be honest. I stopped. I stopped and thought about it. I looked at the slight downward angle of the trail, the unevenness at the edge of the bridge, the obstacles on either side, the rocks, the fallen tree - WHAT IF I FALL OF THE BRIDGE!!?? When I tried to roll forward from my stand still, I lacked sufficient momentum to roll smoothly over the bridge and up the other side of the ravine. Momentum is an extremely valuable commodity. Without it, you may get the same job done, but you'll have to work twice as hard. Had I just kept riding, this story would never have happened.

2) Fear will defeat you every time.

When you focus on your obstacles they ALWAYS seem bigger than they truly are. Fear saps your confidence and causes you to perform at a level well below your abilities. Fear keeps your attention fixed on the problem, rather than the solution. Fear tells you the thing you don't want to happen will. It is the exact opposite of faith. You cannot give fear a dwelling place in your soul and expect to make progress.

3) We will move toward whatever we focus on.

As I moved slowly and cautiously forward I did exactly what I knew NOT to do. Instead of looking toward my desired destination, I focused on the thing I hoped to avoid, thus propelling myself in that very direction. Your life will move in the direction of your most dominant thought. If you have a dream, a goal, a vision - a place you hope to be - begin to fix your focus on that instead of all the reasons it can't be done. With your gaze fixed, you will see that dream more and more clearly with each passing day, week, month...just watch.

If you will learn from my mistakes, I pray that you will find yourself crossing new bridges to exciting places rather than riding off the edges of them. Trust me, it's much more fun!