There I was on a bridge. Train tracks a few feet behind me, water 50 feet below me, and nothing but fear ahead of me. “You’re sure you’ve jumped off this bridge before? The river is deep enough?”
“Ya man. Me and some friends have totally done this before.” I was expecting him to take the leap first, because he’d obviously already jumped. But he was very hesitant. In fact, I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to do it.
Screw it, I thought. I’ll jump first. So I climbed over the railing on the bridge. I could have climbed back down to the floor of the bridge on the other side, but I figured a few extra feet wouldn’t matter too much. I steadied myself, and before I had the chance to overthink it, I jumped.
The fall felt like an eternity. I knew I had to cross my legs if I didn’t want an unintentional enema. So I crossed as I tried to keep myself from twisting and rotating in the air. Eventually, I smacked against the water. I wasn’t expecting my lip to get ripped upon entry, but it happened. It hurt.
My feet slammed into the sandy bottom of the river, and I began to swim up. The water was deeper than I thought. It took a long time to reach the surface. But I made it.
I survived—with only a small amount of blood in my mouth.
As I watched my friend prepare to make a similar leap, it dawned on me. He’d never done this before. He was lying. He thought I wouldn’t make the leap and he’d look like the brave one.
I’ve found most people don’t actually have all the accolades they’re so quick to tell you about. They haven’t actually accomplished that much.
It’s easy to feel inferior or threatened by other people. But I’ve found the quickest way to get over that is to take your own leap. It doesn’t matter what people have done before. What people are going to do. As long as you take the leap you need to take.
Don’t worry about other people. Worry about your own leap. And please leap. It’s exhilarating.
Inspiring!