Activations: Breaking the Plane
This column originally appeared in the January issue of SwimBikeRun St. Louis Magazine.
Activation – noun: making active and effective
It’s first and goal. What are you going to do: Take a knee and let the clock run out or move forward and try to break the plane of the goal line?
The score doesn’t matter. Neither does your record. This is about you moving in a direction to better yourself. This is about challenging the status quo, the comfort zone, the resistance to change. This is about letting go of your fear of failure or unpredictability.
What are the planes you need to break in 2006?
In some cases it’s a physical barrier defined by spatial boundaries. Like the plane of a warm bed cover when the alarm to exercise goes off on a dark winter morning. For many Americans, it’s the confines of the couch in front of the TV. Some planes, such as the snack cupboard or liquor cabinet, are better left unbroken. Imagine an electric fence in your refrigerator doorway.
Mental planes are just as prevalent and often precede the physical. Finding the self-confidence to set a goal and believe in yourself enough to actually think you will accomplish it can be difficult, no doubt. It’s easier to hide backstage, behind life’s curtain, and criticize the performers. The catch is that your dreams may be on the other side.
Find the slit in the curtain and try stepping through. Show your boss that new design you’ve been tweaking for months. Submit your song to a record company. Send your poem to your parents who don’t know you write poetry. Get your screenplay into the hands of your cousin’s producer friend in L.A. Say hi to that friendly face on the elevator or at the gym. Break the self-imposed force field you’re lugging around. It may protect you from rejection or failure, but it’s just as likely to block you from your dreams.
Break the still surface of a quiet swimming pool. Hop on your bike at daybreak and go. Break the plane of your front door and put one foot in front of the other. The momentum of a streamlined push off the wall or a few pedal strokes will carry you further than you could have imagined. Possibilities exist, opportunities are created, connections are made, ideas are born. Journey to a new plane where promises to yourself are made and kept.
It’s first and goal and you’re in the huddle looking at all the pieces of your life staring back at you. It’s time to decide what to do. Don’t take a knee or get called for another delay of game. Run a play that moves you forward. It’s the only way to win.
Here’s hoping you break some planes in 2006. Break!
Respect,
JPD
Activation – noun: making active and effective
It’s first and goal. What are you going to do: Take a knee and let the clock run out or move forward and try to break the plane of the goal line?
The score doesn’t matter. Neither does your record. This is about you moving in a direction to better yourself. This is about challenging the status quo, the comfort zone, the resistance to change. This is about letting go of your fear of failure or unpredictability.
What are the planes you need to break in 2006?
In some cases it’s a physical barrier defined by spatial boundaries. Like the plane of a warm bed cover when the alarm to exercise goes off on a dark winter morning. For many Americans, it’s the confines of the couch in front of the TV. Some planes, such as the snack cupboard or liquor cabinet, are better left unbroken. Imagine an electric fence in your refrigerator doorway.
Mental planes are just as prevalent and often precede the physical. Finding the self-confidence to set a goal and believe in yourself enough to actually think you will accomplish it can be difficult, no doubt. It’s easier to hide backstage, behind life’s curtain, and criticize the performers. The catch is that your dreams may be on the other side.
Find the slit in the curtain and try stepping through. Show your boss that new design you’ve been tweaking for months. Submit your song to a record company. Send your poem to your parents who don’t know you write poetry. Get your screenplay into the hands of your cousin’s producer friend in L.A. Say hi to that friendly face on the elevator or at the gym. Break the self-imposed force field you’re lugging around. It may protect you from rejection or failure, but it’s just as likely to block you from your dreams.
Break the still surface of a quiet swimming pool. Hop on your bike at daybreak and go. Break the plane of your front door and put one foot in front of the other. The momentum of a streamlined push off the wall or a few pedal strokes will carry you further than you could have imagined. Possibilities exist, opportunities are created, connections are made, ideas are born. Journey to a new plane where promises to yourself are made and kept.
It’s first and goal and you’re in the huddle looking at all the pieces of your life staring back at you. It’s time to decide what to do. Don’t take a knee or get called for another delay of game. Run a play that moves you forward. It’s the only way to win.
Here’s hoping you break some planes in 2006. Break!
Respect,
JPD
Labels: Activations
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