Step forward into growth ..

 

A good few years ago, we were having a two story extension added to our house, and for some unknown reason, I decided it would be a good idea if I tiled the roof myself! It was summer, it was hot, I thought a little here a little there, and it would be done in no time.

I’d never done anything like that before. I had no idea why that didn’t put me off, but it didn’t.

Now, if you watch 'proper roofers' (as Susan likes to call them!) at work, the first thing that happens is steel or aluminium scaffolding is put up, by professionals. This allows the roofers to work safely at height.

After some thought, I decided I wouldn’t get professional scaffolding put up .. I had a much better idea. I would do it myself. And no need to use metal scaffolding, I would make my own out of wood!

(Important note: I can now say that this is not a good idea. Don’t try this at home. It is not safe.)

Well, surprise surprise!  It was much harder than I thought to put up. It was much higher up than I thought. It took a lot longer than I estimated. And it wobbled. A lot.

Looking back now, the thing that perplexes me most about my approach is that I’m actually not that good with heights. I don’t really like them.

When I first climbed up the ladder and stepped onto my home made scaffolding, maybe 30 feet up in the air, I was paralysed with fear. I clung to the wooden scaffolding uprights with both hands and did not want to move. I inched along the boards, always holding on for dear life. This made it very difficult to DO anything.

At the end of the first day, it was clear I had made a big mistake. The second day was just as bad. I sat and stared down at the ground for ages. Then I phoned a few scaffolding companies! No help was available for weeks though unfortunately.

On day three I decided I was going to have to let go with at least one hand. One hand meant I could hold a hammer. Or I could hold a nail. But not both. This was so frustrating it drove me mad. Much madder than I was scared! So it wasn’t long before I would let go with both hands for short periods of time to perform some basic roofing procedures.

Surprisingly, about two weeks later the roof was done. The thing that amazed me was how quickly I acclimatised to the height once I’d made up my mind I had to do it.

And this was me, some one that has never really liked heights. I was stepping across open gaps right at the top, hands full of tools by the end of the first week. In the second week, I was climbing up the to the apex of the roof with both hands full of tiles.

It was nothing short of a miracle. The feelings of dread and fear and foreboding that I experienced in my body eventually got bored!

And they didn’t just subside, they turned into supreme confidence. By the time the job was done I was positively at home up there!

The good news is: doubt, fear and anxiety are subject to action.

If it is safe to move forward, even though you are afraid, even though you don’t feel like moving forward .. if you do move forward, you will gradually change the way you feel about that situation.

This is just as true for the fear of public speaking!

If you make up your mind that you are going to get good at it, and you acknowledge that you are actually safe .. and then you step forward into growth, a wonderful thing happens ..

YOU GROW!!

Consistent action in the direction of your dream will change the way you think. It will change the way you feel. It will change everything, and you’ll never be the same again.