When I did my first Tough Mudder one of the obstacles I was most looking forward to was the Cliff Jumper. It’s exactly as it sounds. You climb up a slippery wooden ladder, walk out onto a platform, and then jump 15-ish feet into some very muddy water below. No big deal. Except that it is a big deal. You get to the edge of that platform, look down, and shit gets real. And despite talking a big game, in that moment I absolutely did not want to jump.
The thing is, you can’t climb down. So I held my breath and jumped. Four years later I am so grateful I didn’t let my fear get the best of me.
It’s totally cliche, but I’m again standing on that platform, looking down, with that voice in my head repeating, “No, no, no. No.” I’m not going to lie, a large part of me is in complete agreement with that voice.
But we all know that voice has never moved anyone forward. It’s never helped anyone achieve more. It hasn’t produced Nobel Prize winners or titans of industry. I’m not going to go so far as to say that voice is responsible for average, but I will say it is directly responsible for regret. And in some situations I guess that’s okay. But when you’re in a moment when you have to jump, you’ve got to find a way to get that voice to STFU.