Risk

I recently read a short post by Seth Godin in which he asked, "How deep is the water?"  The point is if it's too deep to stand, does it really matter?  My short answer is yes.  My long answer is...

There is a learned trait in most of us: the ability to calculate risk.  Very small children don't necessarily have this internal safety net or at least they use a far less complicated calculator.  As a toddler, I lacked the ability to judge height while standing on the coffee table (that choice is perhaps for another discussion) and promptly took one step off into a perfect face plant.  We slowly begin to learn the consequence for failure.

So, on to my long answer to Mr. Godin's post, it does matter how deep the water is to a certain degree.  Think about the differences in these activities. Walk heel-to-toe across a balance beam that is six inches from the ground versus walking that same balance beam 600 feet from the ground.  Swim in the deep end of an eight-foot pool versus swimming in the middle of the ocean.  We calculate risk based on our perception of an escape plan and the perceived consequences.  Can I step off this beam if needed or can I get to the side of the pool?

There are certainly degrees of consideration between my extreme examples but at some point we draw the line for ourselves.  Walking a balance beam 600 feet above the ground is insane, unless of course you had a safety harness.  What about six feet off the ground?  Or 16 feet?  Swimming in the ocean conjures up all kinds of fears for me but what about a pool that is 20 feet deep or even a lake that is far too deep for me to descend and touch bottom?  We all have that line.

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." ~ Neale Donald Walsch

That is the point to this all.  Calculating risk is a learned behavior but it most certainly matters how deep the water is...based on your ability to calculate the risk and find an exit strategy.  It is possible to accomplish feats we never imagined possible but it requires an ability as well as a desire to let go a bit.

The most effective way to accomplish this is to identify the goal or task you wish to tackle and then work your way back to determine what is necessary to get there.  Reversing this process--that is taking your current state and trying to determine what steps to take to get to your goal--often leaves us feeling overwhelmed and unsure of our ability.  It's alright to be scared but challenge that fear and learn to calculate a new risk.

"If visualizing your goal doesn't evoke an excited panic, it's likely not the right goal." ~ Jason Huntsinger

Life is Lived in the Details

I've recently found myself lost in the thought of the macro and micro views of life.  The macro view is how we typically measure our lives: in days, weeks, months, years, decades and even a lifetime.  The macro point of view is where life is spent.  We use this reference to more easily categorize events.

The micro view, on the other hand, is what happens around us in those moments.  It's in these moments that I believe life is really lived, not just spent.  It's in the details.  Life is lived in the details.

"Don't count the things you do; do the things that count." ~ Zig Ziglar

When you meet someone who lives with a micro point of view, paying attention the micro moments, it's obvious because it manifests itself in their enthusiasm for what others see as the ordinary.  They tend to laugh louder, smile bigger, hug harder and love more passionately.  They live their lives with a unique appreciation.  I've come to admire this perspective and I find myself striving to live this way.  I want to pause for moments throughout the day and just absorb it all.  The sound of my daughter's voice, the way my son smiles, the touch of my girlfriend's hand on my arm.  Every sense is a portal to micro moments of life if we just take a moment to pay attention.

"If there's one thing I learned, it's that nobody is here forever. You have to live for the moment, each and every day...the here, the now." ~ Simone Elkeles

The point here is that I believe we forget about the micro.  We get caught up in life and begin to take it all for granted.  All the beautiful stimuli of the world pass by us and we don't stop to notice.  As a result we look back with a macro perspective and recall blocks of time, rather than specific moments.  Think about the times you've recalled specific moments: Do you remember how your mom laughed so hard that time she couldn't stop? That is a micro moment.

Now imagine if you took the time to celebrate those micro moments every day.  What if you stopped while walking to work one day and noticed the formation of birds flying overhead in nomadic purposeful unison?  What if you closed your eyes at the park one day and caught the sound of that family laughing hysterically?  How amazing would your days become?

"She worked her toes into the sand, feeling the tiny delicious pain of the friction of tiny chips of silicon against the tender flesh between her toes. That's life. It hurts, it's dirty, and it feels very, very good." ~ Orson Scott Card

The really amazing part about this concept is that it is never too late to begin.  If you possess any of your five senses then you're capable of living in the micro.  Why would you delay any longer?  Life is lived in the details...all you have to do is pay attention.