How to Tackle the ‘Impossible’
Impossible is possible if you work a process.
Make it your own, and make it happen.
This July, my family and I road-tripped to a reunion at Lake Chelan, WA.
We loaded up the car with every water toy and floatation device imaginable because we were the parents of a 4 year old who did not know how to swim.
Although she was completely enamored with the idea of being a swimmer, when it came to putting the fundamentals together, she protested mightily, bellowing a repertoire of excuses to her swim instructor:
“I’m too scared.”
“It’s too deep.”
“I don’t know how.”
As we crossed the Oregon-Washington border, my husband and I anticipated a week of frustration, but we went anyway!
Our first days there, we took full advantage of the lake - swimming, kayaking, and paddle boarding - but insisted that she stay close to shore. She obliged, digging holes and building sandcastles with her younger cousins, but she quickly became enthralled with a group of boisterous teenagers jumping off a floating dock.
She found her WHY, her aspirational identity or motivational story
By Day 3, all the cousins migrated to the pool, and she began to lobby us for more independence. We gave her a taste of freedom in the shallow end, where she attempted to paddle and blow bubbles underwater.
She found her GUTS, running her own little fear(less) experiments
Her ‘freedom’ continued for another day just yards away from Marco Polo games and other shenanigans. She endeavored longer intervals of paddling and bubble-blowing, but there was no teaching from me or my husband!
She found her ORGANIZATION, pursuing chunks of effort to make it seem more feasible
By Day 5, she asked if she could "try doing those cannonballs," and she did not appear to be joking.
She found her DETERMINATION, keeping her 'why' front and center through it all
By midday, our 4-year-old-who-refused-to-swim did a cannonball.
Actually, she did about 20 cannonballs...and she swam back to the wall, underwater, every time.
She tackled her ‘impossible,’ and whether she realized it nor not, she worked a process.
And, most importantly, she did it her own way.
We all have proverbial 'cannonballs,' so what's yours?
What have you been visioning, contemplating, overthinking, and avoiding?
You do not have to go it alone.
You do not need to figure it out from scratch.
But you do need to work a process and make it your own.
Fortifying individuals to take big leaps is the greatest joy of my career. So whether you want to tackle an ‘impossible’ career move or take a big leap into leadership, let’s start a conversation!
