You Can’t Jump A Chasm In 2 Leaps

(Sofia, Bulgaria) Running towards the cement bank, fear took over. I tried to stop, but my momentum pulled me over the edge into the water. I was completely safe, only soaking wet.

 

Two weeks later in Bucharest, Romania, I attempt to leap onto a high ledge with too little momentum and my lower legs crashed into the concrete. Blood…

 

Two failures, and my reward was wet shoes and bloody shins.

 

Thinking more about these failures. Why did I fail?

 

After my first splash, I jumped over that same point 5 times, proving I could do it quite easily…

 

I had already jumped up to this ledge, but my second jump left me bloody… (third, fourth, and fifth were easy.)

 

I was surprised by these failed attempts, so I wrote out the mental process that I thought lead to the failures. (A process I know all too well…)

 

The Mediocre-Attempt Process

 

1. See objective

2. See danger

3. Focus on danger, leading to partial effort, leading to failed attempt

4. Pain or embarrassment leads to weaker 2^nd attempt, also a failure

5. You see a logical pattern Try, Ouch, Try, Ouch…

6. So, you stop.

 

Looking at this process, a potential solution came to mind, which I now think is correct in most situations involving risk and the decision “to do or not to do.”

 

It is necessary to isolate ‘decision making’ from the ‘action taking’.

 

1. First, you decide if you will do it, thinking logically to avoid doing something stupid.

2. Second, if you decide to take action, you focus on the leap. You don’t entertain re-deciding as you run up to the ledge.

 

I wrote out a new process for personal use. (Maybe you can also use it)

 

A Better Process

 

1. See objective

2. See danger

3. Think thoroughly before committing: “Will I go all in on this?” “Is it worth the danger?”

4. If yes, do it and focus fully on the objective.

5. If successful, remember why you did it and take your reward!

6. If ‘Splash’ or ‘Ouch’… think “Will I go all in on this… again?”

7. Try again fully, or don’t try again.

 

I realized that “if you don’t leap fully, it’s as if you can’t leap fully.”

 

(Just like “If you don’t read, it’s as if you can’t read.”)

 

If you’re still deciding whether or not to jump as you run towards the riverbank, you will not make the decision quickly enough to give yourself a fair chance. (You will only get what I got… a weak jump, wet clothes and a bloody shin.)