We’ve seen this in the movies a million times, and maybe we’ve been in a situation or two in our lives where we’ve heard this:
DON’T LOOK DOWN…
If you’re not supposed to look down, where the *$#& are you supposed to look???
LOOK WHERE YOU’RE GOING!
Keep your eyes focused on your goal, and your mind focused on making the next step.
This thought came to me as I caught my mind running away from me this morning. You see, I challenge myself as much as I challenge anyone I work with – to develop themselves, reach higher, get out of their (our?) comfort zones.
And this was one of those mornings where a few challenging areas of my own life started to percolate up to the surface. I felt that fear inside… and heard that inner voice…
What if I can’t…
What if this doesn’t work out…
I have to figure this out, but I don’t see how…
I could feel tension in my body building up.
I meditated…..
One of my favorite Aikido instructors was Sugano Sense…He lost a foot to diabetes. He returned to teach, and was more powerful than ever. He described working through the loss as “an interesting challenge“.
I love thinking of that when I’m faced with something difficult…
IT’S AN INTERESTING CHALLENGE…
Meditating when your mind is running away from you is exactly that… it’s an interesting challenge.
A challenge is something I can deal with. I’ll never back down from an interesting challenge.
Then I had this image come to mind of crossing a rickety foot-bridge… high up…where someone that is guiding me across would say:
DON’T LOOK DOWN
I immediately felt some of the tension diminish.
Here’s what I told myself:
Don’t look down. Don’t focus on problems or issues that might be around you now, focus on where you are going… Focus on taking the next step… and then the next… and then the next.
Changing my focus, I felt good…
Taking that next step, I felt great.
Taking the step after…and the one after that, I’m on my way and nothing can stop me.
It’s an interesting challenge!
OCTOBER OFFER:
Do you have an interesting challenge???