Take The Risk. I Dare You!

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I have obtained several skills and experiences in my career, throughout my life.  One of the skills that I spent a great deal of time using was educating preschool children and providing support to their parents.  Although I have been a preschool teacher, one of the things I realized over the years is that the children taught me a lot about myself.

I was spending time with some children the other day at a neighborhood playground.  They were enjoying themselves running, sliding, and climbing.  I’ve learned a lot watching children play and this day was no exception.  The little girl that I was with wandered curiously over to a rock climbing wall that was built into the playset and led to a slide.  The challenge of the wall was to climb from the bottom all the way to the top (about 10 feet).  The reward for the effort of the climb was being able to go down a long, winding slide and enjoy a fast ride!  She walked over to the climbing wall, eyeing it for a moment, clearly considering the challenge.  However, she quickly decided to give it a try and began to climb, slowly using each foot and hand one at a time.  She was doing pretty well until she got about ½ way up the wall.  She got to a point where she couldn’t figure out how to climb higher, lost her concentration, and fear gripped her.  At the moment that she became afraid and she wanted to get down IMMEDIATELY.  She reached out for me to help her down. I could see her body language and facial expression: ABORT MISSION!

I really wanted her to see what she could do if she kept going. So I told her, “Keep going, you can do it!” She turned back around and resumed climbing. As I watched her climb she went slowly, but she kept going and finally made it to the top.  When she got there, she screamed, “I did it!”  After that, she kept doing it over and over again, and started telling other children on the playground that they could do it too. Now, THAT is the moment that makes taking the risk worth it.  When you get to the top and realize that your fear was just an illusion, you change your own life.

I learned a simple lessons from that playground experience, watching the little girl overcome her fears challenged me as a woman.  I saw myself facing my own challenges and getting scared by the height, the effort required, and even the threat of falling. It made me go home and think about what healthy risks I need to take in my own life.  How can I begin to stretch myself so that I can have the joyful pleasure of saying, “I did it!” and then be able to tell others that they can do it too?  What about you? Is there something that has caught your interest but you’ve been afraid to try? Maybe it’s a yoga class, running, or even learning to swim.  In what way can you take a healthy risk so that you can expand your horizons? Join in experiencing personal success by “climbing” our challenges one step at a time.

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