5 Tiny Hops To Taking a Giant Leap

Sometimes taking the first hop is all it takes to get to a giant leap

Sometimes we have big decisions and choices to make. Oh, the pressure! I wrestled with one myself recently. I was hesitant to take a leap of faith and just go with my gut. What if I was wrong or made a horrible mistake? I wore myself out just thinking about it.

Taking a leap is hard work. Especially if you’re like me and not much of a risk taker. I love the sweet comfort of everyday rituals and regular routines. To me, the thought of a big change feels like a massive tidal wave of impending doom. YIKES!

But we don’t grow or evolve when we’re complacent or resistant. Taking a leap now and then makes us flexible and strong, even better. Change is natural and good. And isn’t everything hard before it gets easy?

So . . . I decided to slow my thinking down and try a more tranquil approach.

With An Island Perspective attitude, I set out to cut through all those negative sand dunes I had created in my mind. Those pesky thoughts can sure cause us trouble. But they can also be managed in a more productive way. We are the boss of them!

With a fresh new perspective, I was able to break down my big leap into tiny, manageable hops. Somehow, thinking about little hops made the whole thing less scary.

Here are my 5 hops (equivalent to a giant leap!)

Hop 1. Get quiet.

Calm yourself down. Turn off the noise around you. Ponder your motivation for taking a leap and changing your life. Surround yourself with a soft blanket of love. Nurture your heart and soul with courage and reassurance.

Hop 2. Collect your wits.

Get your thoughts in order so you can be rational and objective. You may be feeling stressed and overwhelmed. That’s normal. Go deep and tap into your core, the place where you find your authentic inner wisdom. (We all have this!)

Hop 3. Write it down.

Take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle. At the top, write PROs on one side and Cons on the other. As quickly as you can without thinking too much about it, make a list on each side. If you can’t examine this list objectively, get a trusted friend to help you.

Hop 4. Prepare yourself.

Create a mental picture of your giant leap. Imagine your “ideal” outcome. Then try to visualize other possible perspectives, even the ones that scare you. See yourself coping with each one of these as lucky breaks that turned out even better.

Hop 5. Let go.

Nothing is guaranteed to be “safe” in this life – not even staying in your tried and true comfort zone. Trust that every outcome has some good in it. There is nothing that can happen to you that you can’t handle. Gather your gumption and leap!

Just try. Take chances. Make mistakes. There’s a joyous path to change – in learning and growing and expanding yourself in ways you never dreamed possible. Celebrate your attempts because you really can’t lose.

Don’t let fear hold you back from that secret passion burning deep inside of you. Believe in your ability to make good decisions. Tickle your soul with a brave new change. It takes just 5 tiny hops to make your own giant leap of faith!

Tell me how you “hop” into positive leaps in your life.

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Join the island tribe at facebook.com/IslandPerspective.

Are you ready to discover your own inner island? Here’s the complete guide: An Island Perspective – Finding the Path to Tropical Tranquility

About Renee

I’m passionate about living a balanced, healthy, happy life with purpose and meaning. And, I love sharing ideas on finding tropical tranquility through An Island Perspective.

Comments

  1. I love the phrase you used, “tickle your soul”. Another lovely, and timely, post, Renee. Thanks for your insightful words.

  2. Great post, Renee! This is something we all can identify with. Everyone has at least some difficulty leaving the familiar and comfortable — even if it doesn’t “fit” well anymore. I always believe that breaking things down into steps makes them much more do-able, and you gave us wonderful directions on how to do this. I particularly love Hop 1! The part where you write: “Surround yourself with a soft blanket of love.” — Just beautiful!

    Linda

  3. Renee says:

    Thank you, Heidi. You “tickled” my heart with your kind comment!

    Linda, I know it really helps me to bring things down into simple steps, especially when I’m feeling stressed. Funny how it seems less overwhelming that way. While none of us can be stress-free and tranquil ALL the time, we can sure aim to keep things simple with An Island Perspective mindset!

  4. Jason says:

    Love the post this week!

    It truly is scary to take a giant leap or make a big decision sometimes! I was faced with a tough one today and am now trying to retrace my steps to make sure I followed your 5 easy steps! :) Will definitely in the future! On the “get quiet” …. I purposely took the dog for a walk at the moment I needed it so I could collect my wits! It worked!

    This is another one to print and put next to my desk!

  5. Renee says:

    Thank you Jason! I’m honored to be featured on your desk. :) What a great idea to walk the dog and get away for some quiet stillness. Our noisy lives don’t help us think very straight. Sounds like you took a leap today. Congratulations! You’ll be fine!

  6. guurrbi says:

    Spot on! Steps 1 & 2 are what the Nugal-warra call ‘guurrbi’ in Aboriginal philosophy. Check out the definition below Willie’s pic on http://www.guurrbitours.com :-)

  7. Steve says:

    Hey Willie,

    Thanks for checking in with the great comment!

    I visited your site from your link. Man, we would LOVE to take one of your tours! Sounds SO cool! Maybe some day we will make it to Australia . . .