Surprising Things Can Happen

Surprising things can happen when we allow others to have their own reactions and their own experiences. This used to be a foreign concept for me, as a former version of myself. Now I realize how often I have a “we will see” approach. And it’s freeing.

There is no wasted energy trying to control the outcome. No mental gymnastics for how to guide others towards your will, your desires. I now find myself doing everything I can to ensure everyone has the space they need to have their most authentic response.

If you haven’t tried this yet, I highly encourage it.

A playful example: I went hiking/boulder maneuvering a few weeks ago with a group of very fit and strong adults in my mastermind near our vacation home. It was exciting. No trail. Slightly dangerous. Rushing, cold water greeting you if you missed your step. I’d driven by that waterfall countless times and without a trailhead it never occurred to me to stop, check it out and then climb up a mountainous waterfall. (Thank you Daniel Eisenman).

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 I loved it and knew I wanted to come back and try it again with my family. I mentioned it to my two daughters and  their friend staying with us this week. They were curious so we went. I wondered how it would go. I had many  scenarios in my imagination including one or more of them saying hell no and staying at the car (fine). Well, they loved it. No one froze in panic. They tapped into a zone within themselves. They were like ninjas. I was by far the slow poke lol. My ten yr old would go up to the lead and then zip back towards me to see if I needed help. My 13 yr old offered me a hand and guidance on the route she had taken. You could see how alive they felt. The challenge of there being no trail and some element of risk seemed to bring out their best.

I trusted them. And I got to see them trust themselves.

As a parent, it’s so easy to be overly cautious. And yet we can miss chances for serious adventure, where the rewards far outweigh the possible (or actual) scraped skin or bruises.

Life is about taking chances and proving to ourselves through experience that we are far more durable than we give ourselves credit.

We may go back again tomorrow

Xoxo

Jill

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