The Alternative to Taking the Leap

In the nearly 20 years that I’ve been engaged in the sport of flying trapeze, I’ve watched many new flyers take their first steps up the intimidating ladder to the platform, stand at the edge, and take the leap.

It’s not always that smooth. Some flyers stand at the edge then start to pull back. Sometimes the flyer wants to back out and head back down the ladder, the way they came up.

Although they are in safety lines, and an instructor is holding their belt, they are hesitant to take the leap.

This is understandable, and completely normal. The fear of heights is one of two inborn fears.

That said, here’s what I can tell you about flying trapeze:

You don’t want to climb down the ladder.

As scary as it seems to climb the ladder, and as scared as you might be to take the leap, there’s nothing more frightening to me than climbing DOWN the ladder.

To me, a ladder is a one-way device: meant only for climbing up.

I don’t want to go back the way I came.

Once I’ve reached the end of my climb, the thrill is in exploring the new path.

Yes, the leap is scary.

Failure is a certainty. Injury is a possibility, even in safety lines.

And yet ….

Taking the leap opens you to a new world of potential and possibility. The possibilities for what you can do in the vast space and time between stepping off the platform and landing in the net are seemingly infinite.

Once I took the leap, I was initiated into a journey of self-trust and personal growth that has allowed me to consistently meet my edge and exceed my wildest dreams.

Life consistently offers us the same option.

We consistently find ourselves at thresholds in life where we are given the opportunity to leap into the unknown. Maybe we will use skills we acquired from before and maybe we will be called to develop new skills. Perhaps both.

It’s scary to leap into something new, to test yourself in unknown territories where the skills and talents you’ve previously mastered may not translate.

At that threshold, it often seems like the safer and less scary choice to back away and climb down the ladder. Retreat back to the safety of what you knew before. The things you are good at. The roles people expect you to play in life.

Retreating down the ladder may feel like the safer option to some, but to me it feels like a sure path to regret.

The first time I stood on the flying trapeze platform, climbing down the ladder never even occurred to me.

The climb up was hard enough. I wanted to taste flight.

To me, climbing down the ladder is like a descent into the hell of regret.

I have never wanted to go back the way I came.

Not on the trapeze rig, and not in life.