The High Dive

When I was a kid, I used to go to the Venetian Pool in Coral Gables, Florida. Long before lawyers and liability waivers, the high jump was a rock ledge far above the water.

I remember standing at the edge of that rock, looking down at the water below and thinking, There is absolutely no way I’m jumping.

Before long, the kids behind me would get tired of waiting. I’d step aside, let them jump, and then walk right back to the edge.

I don’t know how long I stood there. Maybe ten minutes. Maybe twenty. As a kid, it felt like forever.

The water never got closer. The fear never disappeared on its own.

Then something changed in me. It wasn’t certainty or courage. It was simply the quiet realization that waiting had become worse than jumping.

So I jumped.

The water was just as cold as I imagined. The rock was just as high. But when I climbed back out, something was different.

I couldn’t wait to do it again.

The fear did not go away before the leap. It went away because of it.

That high jump is gone now, but I still remember standing barefoot on that hot coral rock and finally letting go.

I think about that ledge whenever I catch myself waiting to feel ready. The new book I keep researching instead of starting. The conversation I keep rehearsing instead of having. The change I keep planning instead of making.

We tell ourselves we’re being careful. We’re gathering information. Preparing. Waiting for the right moment.

But sometimes, we’re simply walking away from the edge.

We want to see everything clearly before making a decision, but life rarely gives us that luxury. Readiness is not something we wait for. It is something we discover on the way down.

Where in your life are you standing at the edge, waiting for the water to get closer?

If this reflection spoke to you, forward it to someone standing at the edge of their own rock. Sometimes the nudge we need comes from a friend.

This week’s reflection comes from Chapter Twelve of my book Learning to Unlearn, an exploration of the beliefs we carry without questioning and the freedom waiting on the other side of letting them go.

You can learn more at DavidScottYglesias.com.

Be Well,

David

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