What I learned from jumping off a 50-foot wall… I looked up at the wall I was about to climb. A multitude of thoughts were running through my head including:
• I am quite happy with my feet on the ground.
• What if the auto-belay doesn’t work?
• Why am I doing this again?
But I pushed aside my fear and started to climb the wall, one handhold at a time. And I made it to the top!
Rock climbing has taught me some very important life lessons.
I can do more than I think I can!
Did I make it up the first time I tried? No!
In fact, I only climbed a ¼ of the way up the wall. After a half dozen times, I decided to push through my fear and climbed all the way up. And I made it!
The hardest part of rock climbing (and much of life) is letting go.
Remember I said I climbed a little higher each time? That was in part so I could practice letting go and trusting the auto-belay to catch me. I didn’t want to be that person who climbed all the way up and then couldn’t get down.
When I did reach the top, I knew I couldn’t think about it or I wouldn’t actually let go. (Who in their right mind lets go of a wall to fall 50-feet to the ground?!) So as soon as my daughter took my picture (I had to prove that I did it!) I let go before I could think about what I was doing.
And I squealed like a school girl! The whole gym heard me. In fact, one of the instructors later said, “Oh, that was you?”
It gets easier each time.
The second time I climbed up and let go of the wall I let out a groan audible only to me. The third time the only noise I made was to say “Go!” (My cue to actually let go.)
So why am I telling you about rock climbing?
I know how hard it is to live intentionally and to choose how you spend your time. I struggle with it too! Daily, in fact. But when we make intentional choices we have an opportunity to have a generational impact!
My husband and I would not have tried rock climbing if it weren’t for our girls. They started climbing during a summer camp and decided to take lessons. We all took a top rope class so my husband and I could belay for them. Call us crazy, but we decided to join the gym too so we could spend time with them.
We are all developing better overall strength and mental toughness that is impacting all aspects of our lives. We even have a pull-up bar at home now!
But the best part is that we are living out three aspects of our mission statement:
• . . . build strong and loving family relationships.
• . . . spend quality time together.
• . . . live a healthy lifestyle.
Multiple times our daughters have commented on how much they enjoy going to climb with us. Talk about killing three birds with one stone hold.
So my question for you is…
Are you living intentionally?
There are never enough hours in a day to do everything we want to do.
We have to make choices about how we spend our time and where we invest our energy.
I try to make all decisions regarding how I spend my time and energy by asking if it lines up with our family's mission statement. This starting point helps me stay centered and focused on our end goal.
