“To do anything truly worth doing, I must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in with gusto and scramble through as well as I can.” Og Mandino.
There I was. Standing on the high board, one summer morning at swim lessons. A line of other kids behind me waiting to jump off. It was my turn to jump. And I just stood there. Was there fear of the waster? No. Was there fear of the height? Like no other. The one thing missing during this horrible experience (at that time): someone never reminded me it was only water waiting for me. Clean, refreshing water.
With my heart pounding with fear, I walked on the board. What felt like hours, I only stood there for minutes. Minutes. Maybe 5 minutes, or 10 or 15. I can’t recall. But I finally walked to the edge and jumped. Everyone cheered. I was relieved. Very relieved.
The unfortunate thing about this experience: I jumped again later and when I would go to the pool in the afternoons for the fun of it. Why was that unfortunate? Because I enjoyed doing it and I realized how much fun I missed out on by not doing it much sooner.
It was only water.
Why tell you this story? Because sometimes leadership can be just like that high board. Jumping off your comfort board into something you may think is the unknown, only to find out that it’s only water. That it is only something that you are familiar with, even though your heart may pound so loud that you can hear it as you fall from the board.
If you are hesitant to be the leader you need to be, jump off the board. Do it. It’s only water below.
For the fun of it…Just click on the link below to take a hilarious look at someone afraid to jump off a high board at a swimming pool.