Take the Leap

What dream feels daring to you?

I recently completed Marathon #13 in Erie, PA, with my best friend. It was HUMID. We're talking 98%. It was hot. It was hard. And I am dang proud of that race.

Afterward, someone asked me, "What motivates you to keep doing them?"

My honest answer? I just love it. I love the challenge. I love seeing what I'm capable of. And while everyone sees the finish line, they don't see the weeks of training, hundreds of miles, early mornings, crappy runs, great runs, and all the moments when I laced up my shoes whether I felt like it or not. That's actually where the magic happens.

The training builds the person who eventually crosses the finish line. Race day simply reveals what that person is capable of.

And no, marathons don't become "easy" because I've run 13 of them. 26.2 miles is still 26.2 freaking miles.

But the discomfort has become known. I've been tired before. I've doubted myself before. I've had races and training runs go completely sideways. And every time, I collect a little more evidence that says: You know how to do hard things.

I think the same thing happens when we take big leaps in life. Actually, forget "big." I'm more interested in the thing that feels daring to you. Because as soon as we consider doing it, our brains get LOUD.

What if it doesn't work? What if you fail? What if OTHER PEOPLE see you fail?!

GASP!

Gosh, the brain is a good negotiator. It wants certainty before we move. But eventually, every meaningful leap requires stepping into something we can't fully predict. And here's what your fear conveniently forgets: you've done unknown before. You've done hard before. You've navigated plans that changed, things you didn't expect, and moments when you weren't sure what came next.

You may have never done THIS before. But that doesn't mean you're starting from zero.

So, if there's something calling to you right now, maybe you don't need to wait until you're no longer afraid. Will it unfold exactly the way you hope? No freaking clue. It might be harder. It might be better. It might take you somewhere you never anticipated. You might even fail. But that doesn't mean the leap was wrong. It means you stepped into the unknown and learned what you could only learn by going there.

So... what's calling to you?

Maybe it's time to GO DO THE DANG THING.

I hope you take the leap.

Get Out of Your Head

Think about the leap that's calling to you. And we're NOT making a pros-and-cons list. Your brain has had plenty of airtime.

Find somewhere quiet, put both feet on the floor, and take a few slow breaths. Close your eyes and imagine yourself actually taking the leap—not succeeding or failing, simply saying yes and stepping into the unknown.

Then notice your body.

Where do you feel something? Your chest? Belly? Throat? Hands?

Is there tightness? Warmth? Buzzing? Expansion? A strange desire to run toward it AND away from it?

There are two Hebrew words I've become fascinated by: pachad, the fear connected to what could go wrong, and yirah, a kind of awe we experience when standing at the edge of something bigger than what we know.

And sometimes fear and awe feel remarkably similar in the body.

So don't immediately explain the sensation away. Stay with it. Breathe. Soften your jaw. Drop your shoulders. Unclench your hands.

Then ask: What am I actually feeling at the edge of this unknown?

And perhaps even: What does my body know that my fear hasn't let me hear?

You don't need an answer right away.

This week, simply practice standing at the edge without automatically running away.