By Max Miller
Take a Pause.
There is something heroic and noteworthy about taking a leap. Something superhuman and extraordinary.
The idea that we can somehow overcome human limitations,that we can take gargantuan leaps of faith,overcome massive challenges which transcend humankind,sounds heroic,and truly romantic.
We think of:taking ‘leaps of faith,’‘jumping off cliffs,’and ‘burning ship’…All the time.
We want tomake epic moves to radically change our lives and career,as if we were superheroes.
**I admire the gumption, but let’s take a pause.**The idea that we could overcome our limitations is great…But let’s reconsider for a moment:That we are human, not super-human,so why do we have to leap, j_ump_, and burn, to get from life… what we truly desire?
You see…
We humans scare easily. We get scared of anything that is not habitual.Every time we take one of those leaps, every time we make a heroic move, worthy of media coverage…
When we quit our job without a plan, when we decide to travel the world with a tight squeeze budget.When we give ourselves one week to make rent’s due,or else we become homeless…It triggers our fear or flight response.
The Amygdala,which has been helping us to survive for thousands of years,begins to make large screeching noises, every time we jump off the edge of the cliff, of our lives.
The Amygdala, in panic mode.
The reality is that:When we ‘jump ship,’ or ‘take a leap’We humans become terrified… and we freeze.Like a deer in front of headlights.We freeze, we run, or we loose it completely.Because we were not designed to make epic jumps.
When we make a big scary move, self sabotage, and our limiting subconscious beliefs come up… and they make us miss the jump.
Our brains decided long agohow much risk we would be willing to put up with,how much fear and epic change we could experience in our lives, before going crazy.
Our human machine is built to keep us safe.Our system is built with safety mechanisms we are not even aware of:keeping us from anything dangerous, epic, abrupt, or radically different.
I am not saying that we should resign in one place,that we should not pursue our passions, and overcome our biggest fears.But would you ever throw a baby into an ice-cold bucket of water?**No.**Then, why do you keep jumping into that ice freezing cold bucket yourself?You know it’s not working.
The stories of overnight success, champions, heroes, supermen, and wunder-women, who transcended the human specieswith the bat of an eyelash, are stories made up by hopeful people..just like you and me, out of Hollywood.
Their stories are mythical, not replicable.Outside of Hollywood, we are all still human.
I am not saying that change is not possible.I am not saying that we should all succumb to mediocrity, or to what is.
Yes, we are resilient, and we are resourceful.We are capable of much more than we can even imagine.
But we have to know how to play, and effectively hack our human systems,if we want to play the game of life… effectively, successfully, in ‘epic’ ways…
If we want to be epic, we have to start small.
The best way to trick our human systems,is to take small daily action steps,to slowly build habits, toward that epic vision,so we can close the gap between our physiology and our superhuman vision.
Daily habits allow the human system toadapt to the epic proportions of your imagination,to take courageous action steps, without setting off our internal alarm system.
Success is not made of one big leap after another.It is made up of tiny little steps taken day after day, rain or shine.
Rome, Google, and Apple were not built in a day. Larry and Sergey spent seven years working in a garage, before Google became Google.
Let’s stop glamorizing the idea of taking leaps, burning ships, and jumping off cliffs,and let’s start to appreciate the art of the slow build, the magic of consistency, and the art of the small daily steps.
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Want to be a writer?
Start by writing for five minutes a day, then ten minutes… and then three hours a day.If you set out to write your first book tomorrow, good luck.I pray that your self sabotage fairies won’t give you a pneumonia or burn your house.
When you think, I will write a book, and become a huge, internationally renown self help author… You freeze.
When you think, I will write 1 page of self-help advice today. You do it.
The next day, when you think: I will write 2 pages of self-help advice today. You do it.
And the following day, when you think: I will write 3 pages of self-help advice today. You do it.
Success never looked so easy.The truth is that, success, in most cases is, anything less than glamorous.
While taking a leap sounds heroic.Moving steadily toward your dream life sounds real,feasible, and actionable.