Monday, August 6, 2012

Motivational Monday - Step off that bank

We went to Maui in June and I've been going through our photos and even managed to organize some and get a photo book ordered.

When I talk with my family about our time there, one experience stands out in each of our minds. It was a hike through a bamboo forest and across a river to get to a waterfall.


It wasn't an easy hike, and when we had to cross a river, I wasn't sure I wanted to do it. It was like a real-life choose-your-own-adventure. Do I want to get wet? Do I want to try and walk across the slippery rocks? Do I want to go at all?

I didn't want to regret staying back while my family went ahead without me. So even though I was scared, I went. I made my way across the rocks and when there were no more rocks, I got in and got wet.

Here's our reward for our efforts:


I have often felt the same as I ventured in to a new writing project. Standing there, on the bank, wondering if I can make it across, doubt filling me up and my ego wanting me to continue to stand there, because standing still is most certainly better than failing. Or so it thinks.

Yes, it is scary, to take that first step, and then another, and to continue across, wondering what challenges lie ahead for you.

And of course, there will be challenges. But I also have come to learn that it's these experiences that also push us toward something extraordinary.

Staying on that bank would have been easy. But I would have missed out on so much. And so it is with our writing.

So today I say - step out. Go for it. Who knows what amazing waterfall awaits you!!

4 comments:

  1. As always, you speak right to me. Thank you, friend. xo

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    1. Thanks for reading! Hope the writing is going well. xo

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  2. Needed exactly this today!
    Thanks for your words and your example as always.
    Marilee

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  3. Thanks for sharing, Lisa. And so glad you had such a great time on your vacation! I had a similar experience in Maui when my husband and I went a while ago. We discovered a beautiful waterfall and me being not so adventurous was worrying about being cold, mysterious bugs, etc, etc. But then, I just did it. I jumped in with him, and something about swimming beneath a remote waterfall in Hawaii is unforgettable. Such a great reminder for us to leave our comfort zones, and how it can change us in the best sort of way :)

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