{"id":12939,"date":"2009-08-05T08:36:00","date_gmt":"2009-08-05T13:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/BrandTwist.com\/?p=60"},"modified":"2018-10-18T20:14:59","modified_gmt":"2018-10-18T20:14:59","slug":"the-thrill-of-flying-and-trying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brandtwist.com\/blog\/risk-taking\/the-thrill-of-flying-and-trying\/","title":{"rendered":"The Thrill of Flying (and Trying)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"id=\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366299546237156274\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Yesterday we went on a company outing to a Trapeze School.<\/a><\/p>\n

Wow!<\/p>\n

What an experience.<\/p>\n

A while ago I wrote a post about getting out of your comfort zone and feeling butterflies.<\/a><\/p>\n

Well, this was easily a 100 + on the “Monarch scale”.<\/p>\n

Those butterflies were fluttering like crazy as I climbed the extremely steep ladder to the top of the platform. <\/p>\n

The whole while I was wondering how I could gracefully turn around and go back down the ladder and not make too much of a fool of myself in front of my friends and colleagues.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) backing down the ladder wasn’t an option. It was already being climbed up by the next victim (I mean participant).<\/p>\n

So I listened to the instructor, took a deep breath, and took the plunge. <\/p>\n

And it was hard. And I didn’t quite do it right. And I was horribly ungraceful.<\/p>\n

(By the way, this is not just me being modest. Later, over drinks I actually won a trophy for the “worst grabbing of the bar” from my crew at Virgin).<\/p>\n

But I did it. And much to my surprise I actually put my name on the list to go up again. <\/p>\n

And the second time was slightly better than the first, but still not great.<\/p>\n

But I am glad I did it. <\/p>\n

All the trite sayings about taking risks, feeling alive, etc. are true. <\/p>\n

And although I wasn’t perfect, I still felt good about challenging myself.<\/p>\n

But do you know what was actually the coolest?<\/p>\n

Watching other people conquer their fears and triumphing. <\/p>\n

During the day, on the ride over to the location, and certainly during my long climb up the ladder it was all about me, me, me.<\/p>\n

But once I completed my two turns and felt I had done enough, I got changed back into my street clothes, sat down and watched everyone else.<\/p>\n

That’s where I got the biggest thrill. <\/p>\n

All around me, people were taking risks, climbing ladders, swinging on bars, and crossing a very high and scary metal tight-rope.<\/p>\n

And although they were sweating, and shaking, and sometimes missing and falling…they were trying and succeeding…definitely succeeding in pushing themselves to try something new. <\/p>\n

Hours later I can still vividly recall the look on my friend Paul’s face as he nailed a challenging swing and catch into the arms of a waiting staff member. <\/p>\n

A beautiful, pefect, s*** eating grin.<\/p>\n

Watching him was definitely the best moment of the afternoon.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the highlights of the outing, it hit me that sometimes the reward doesn’t have to be in the risks you<\/em> take.<\/p>\n

It can also be in sharing and celebrating the triumphs of others.<\/p>\n

Maybe that’s obvious, and probably it’s a bit corny. But it’s still true and worth remembering.<\/p>\n

That’s my point of view. What’s your twist?
Whens the last time you celebrated someone else’s victory?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday we went on a company outing to a Trapeze School. Wow! What an experience. A while ago I wrote a post about getting out of your comfort zone and feeling butterflies. Well, this was easily a 100 + on the “Monarch scale”. Those butterflies were fluttering like crazy as I climbed the extremely steep […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-risk-taking"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t