(This is the 3rd of the Eight Universal Principles for Stepping up to the Edge by Baron Baptiste taken from his book - “Journey into Power”.)
Photo Credit: Unsplash / Ravi Roshan
“Growth begins with acceptance. You can only grow beyond where you are if you accept where you are in the first place.
You can only begin to stretch your limits if you can see and embrace them. You can never actually grow past your edge if you can’t see it clearly and willingly.”
Growth is about acknowledging and accepting your Edge.
When we talk about the Edge; it’s our threshold for pain physically, emotionally, mentally. They are your Fears, lining up for Battle! The Edge is scary. We don’t go THERE. We don’t want to rock the boat.
We stay behind the Edge, in our comfort zone because it’s safe. And we tell ourselves we don’t know how to get over AND the fear of not knowing scares us. In fact, we think we know what will happen beyond the edge.
Heartache. Sadness. Frustration. Failure. Judgement. Disappointment.
Guess what?
That’s exactly how you’re feeling, especially if RIGHT NOW, you’re at your Edge, when you have to make that decision, that leap of faith.
It doesn’t feel good! Yet, you haven’t even gone past the edge.
And you know what?
What lies beyond the Edge is your possible new future.
What is possible beyond the Edge is Growth and Courage.
“The question is not really whether you’re willing to grow and drop your fears; the real question is can you be brave enough to get out of your own way.”
Your fears, your edge are your stories and they are NOT who you are as a human being.
You have the choice to move forward or stay stagnant. You have the choice to dig deep in your heart and find the courage.
If you focus on what you cannot do or what doesn’t work, you will suffer more because it fuels your fears, that your fears are actually true. And they are not.
Baron says - If you fight for your limitations, your only prize is you get to keep them.
When you quiet down and pay attention to your fears, they will have a lesser hold on you. And you will see clearly what needs to be done.
And what needs to be done, may not necessarily mean taking that leap. It could be staying and see what comes up. Your Edge could be just facing your fears.
Just by being brave enough to stand at the edge and being willing to see what’s possible, you are on the path of Growth.
“Staying focused on what you cannot do prevents you from discovering what you can do.”
Be in the NOW.
ACCEPT your fears.
Focus on what you can do, from where ever you are, with what you have right now, what can you do?
Journal this:
Locate a time when I have leapt off the edge in my practice, teaching or life.
How does it look like and feel like when I fully connected and growing?
How has leaping off the edge been a contribution to me?
Where in my life right now, am I sitting on and away from the edge? Where am I stuck?
What does it look like and feel like when I’m not growing?