Heard this interesting “parable” from a business leader named
Dan Conlon at a talk in the Chicago suburbs this weekend, and
felt it had such a broad and powerful application to any key
transition in life that I wanted to share it with you here.
Dan called it, the “Parable of the Trapeze”
Imagine swinging on a trapeze…and as you reach the end of
your swing, another trapeze bar is swinging towards you.
You know that bar is for you.
Now you’ve got to let go of the bar you have in order to grasp
that next bar…
similarly in our life, relationships, health, or business, when
called to a new level, we have to let go of what’s comfortable
and familiar, and we’ve got to grab hold of the next “bar” so
we can travel the distance we’re meant to go.
If you let go consciously it looks really cool; if you let go
hesitantly – it looks really bad.
In between is where you’re the most alive — where you’ve
let go of one bar and not yet grabbed the next one — there’s
something new, and there’s risk.
Now here’s a key:
If you focus on the doubt, gravity begins to take over.
On the other hand, if you let go of the bar consciously and
grab the next one, you can build momentum in your life.
So next time you’re faced with something new, remember the
“Parable of the Trapeze.”
Dr. Ben
P.S. Just heard from Dan that the Parable of the Trapeze originally comes from Danaan Parry – “Hurtling through the void, we just may learn how to fly.”
Dear Ben,
Great Post! It got me thinking of an article I once read about Trapeze School.
I read that at trapeze school you have to SMILE and LISTEN. Those are the only two rules you need to follow to excel.
Smile and listen? How does that apply?
How do those two commands help you to excel.-The “listen” command, is all about teamwork- part of your team is holding the ropes on the ground, and is watching you fly and timing your actions. You are supposed to listen to their direction on when you are to bring your legs over the bar, because from their vantage point, they know the precise moment, that if you follow their lead, the wind would be at your back and grace would take over and you could fly effortlessly. But you would need to LISTEN to take action.
The purpose of the “smile” command is to let go of resistance. When you are taking on something new, like flying on a trapeze, where fear can creep in, you have to find a way to tell your fear that you are okay, that you are going to be fine. The smile is a decision and in making this deliberate decision, you are setting the tone of your own experience.
Outside of the trapeze world, the “listen” command is relevant because our intuition, our higher guidance, the inner voice- have a similar vantage point. They are at ground control wanting to assist us in our forward momentum. They know what we want and they know the quickest route to get us there. We get the hunches, we get the cues, we get the nudges, but how often do we follow them?
Smile and Listen. Let go of resistance so that you can hear your internal guidance and follow its lead. Let grace take over and the wind be at your back. In other words, you’re looking for forward momentum. Like flying.
Great Post! Thank you for sharing!!!
Listen & smile…and letting go of resistance…very key–thanks so much for sharing, Lolly!