When I was young, my parents decided to put a swimming pool in the back yard. As you can imagine having a pool would be great as long as you know how to swim. Two years of swimming lessons later and the pool was in … yippee! All well and good for us kids, yet my mom didn’t know how to swim. On top of that, she has asthma. Not a good combination when getting into a pool, slightly covered by the trees, could be cooler than she liked taking her breath away if she plunged into the pool … triggering an asthma attack.
What did she do, she took it slowly by immersing herself, one toe at a time. She became a toe dipper. This, in and of itself, was not a bad thing. She needed the slow immersion becoming accustomed to the temperature of the water before she could fully get into the pool. Once she was in, she slowly began to teach herself how to dog paddle as she couldn’t put her head under water. She went beyond dipping her toe in to putting her efforts into a new skill. The risk of an asthma attack was less risk than not being able to help her children if we needed her help while in the pool.
What about you?
Have you found yourself dipping your toe in and never fully immersing yourself into something? You contemplate starting your own business reading everything you can get your hands onto thinking about the “how” of starting that business … never going beyond the thinking about it. You look at all the new job postings in your company wondering if you should apply for the one that is a no-brainer of a next step for you … never getting beyond the looking and wishing you just had the new position.
There are times in life when you try to dip your toe in only to pull it back too afraid to do more. When you live in the fear of never having immersed yourself into your greatest desires only causes that one day thought of “if only I had”. Do you really want to have that happen … if it hasn’t happened already in your life?
What would happen in your life if you took the plunge and fully immersed yourself into what you would really love in your life? Even if you did it slowly just as my mom did? For one thing, you wouldn’t be living with any regrets. You could even begin to feel a sense of purpose that hasn’t been in your life for some time. How great would that be!
Toe dipping is ok as long as it is not an excuse for keeping you stuck in the ‘what ifs’ of life. For me, I am a plunger. I dive in fully immersing myself into what I would love. Just dipping my toe in is not enough for me. Whether you are a dipper or a plunger, choosing to go slow or going for it … it is up to you … you get to choose. I can help you take that plunge or immerse slowly with some dips.
Let’s talk to see which is right for you.