Take the Risk Together
Competitors understand that the unpredictability of competition pushes us to our limits. It herds us to our growth edges and pressures us into positions of discomfort. This journey to the edges of our capabilities is risky. We are not meant to take this risk alone.
Called Out
It is difficult to journey alone to these edges of ourselves again and again. We may not know where we need to grow, how to reach our goals, or what specific things we should be doing to get better. Apart from lacking awareness and knowledge of this process, there is something deeper that makes the journey of self-growth more difficult. This deeper element is fear. We fear what we will find if we journey to those edges of ourselves. We would rather avoid those places. This is why we need people to take the risk with us, people we trust that accompany us to these cliffs of ourselves. These are teammates, coaches, teachers, and friends. These people do more than provide the knowledge and circumstances for you to grow, but they provide a presence. This presence disrupts our avoidance.
Amidst our own insecurities of not being good enough or worries about what others think about us, the presence of a supportive person changes the whole process. Their presence makes us more likely to deal with these things in ourselves. If someone else can tolerate our insecurities and shortcomings, then perhaps we can too. If a coach or teammate gives us the space to fail, then maybe we can too. If they truly believe that we can be great, then maybe that’s a reason to keep pushing. This connection with another person gives us permission to explore. And in this exploration, we discover the newness of growth.
This is the nature of education. Education is the whole process of learning, of acquiring knowledge and skills to fulfill one’s potential. The Latin root of the word educate is, ‘educere‘, which means ‘to call or lead out‘. We need someone to call us out of our current way of doing things. To learn new skills, new methods, and new approaches to problems. This process of learning entails an ongoing adventure into the unknown where we are continually called out into newness. Not only called out but led out. We are led from what we know to what we do not know. From what is familiar into what is unfamiliar. From what we can do now to what we could do in the future. Into those places of newness and expansion. This process evokes our own fears and insecurities. Yet, the presence of someone we trust helps ease this tension and allows us to see our potential.
Others Echo the Call
It is near impossible to always see our own potential. We get bogged down in our current situations and find ourselves in ruts where we become comfortable or used to how things are. We forget to think beyond how things are and wonder how they could be. We might become weighed down by past experiences. And think that the only possibilities in the future are determined by what has happened in the past. We lose sight of what is possible for us and relax on pushing past current limits. Perhaps we desire to push the limits of what is possible, but we tend to get in our own way. We struggle to listen to this voice inside of us. We may get tired, fear failure, resist change, doubt ourselves, lack motivation, … etc. Our thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and experiences may block our path to reaching new heights. This is why it is necessary for others to accompany us on this journey. We need other people to echo that voice inside of us, calling us to the cliffs of ourselves. We need people to push us to go to places we do not always want to go.
Final Thoughts
This is why we need encouragement, guidance, and support. We need people to believe in us to the point of taking that risk with us. When someone stands with you in the process and journeys to those edges with you, it sends a powerful message. It tells you that there is something inside of you worth taking a risk for. It tells you that those fears and insecurities are real, but the call to grow is more powerful. There may be danger in going to the edges, but the risk is taken together. And there is an added security in that connection. From that point of connection, we are able to explore and discover new possibilities.
