The “Leap of Faith,” we called it (because so did the inimitable team with Fulcrum Adventures, our SoCal Ropes Course partners at dozens of camp retreats). And it was so that. 

A 30-foot (or so) pole, anchored safely into the ground, sure – but waving with the winds that blow through, and holding up a woman with confidence that, because she’s human, wavers, too.

It seems insane to say yes to an obstacle that has you scale a pole to stand on a foundation the size of a dinner plate. With lots of others watching, no less. And then to jump from that pole to a trapeze bar in the distance!

What is she nuts? In the best case scenario: yes, yes she is.

It takes a brave person to have faith at the edge of the comfort zone…

…To be vulnerable and risk, gulp, failing at something…in front of others!! 

…To accept the hooting & hollering of supporters who watch her bold endeavor and hear, “you’ve got this, totally.”  

…To allow her heart — or gut — (whose job it is to keep her growing) to tell her, “you’ve got this, probably.” 

…To quiet her head (whose job it is to keep her safe) as it says, “you don’t got this. Quit while you’re ahead.”

…To leap anyway!

But she does – she leaps. Now knowing that she’s stretched her limits, that her life is elastic, that her heart can be in charge if she lets it be. 

And most of the time, that’s enough to have her take bold strides in other areas of her life, too, making friends with the old adage, “you can’t win if you don’t play.”

. . . 

When was the last time you took a proverbial leap?

Put faith over fear with a zero percent guarantee that you’d catch the bar you’re aiming for, but with total inner knowing that you would land in a better place than where you started?

It’s time to leap! To play – not because you might win, but because, no matter the outcome, you will, if you grow (and you’re pretty much guaranteed to grow!).

. . . 

My life is richer because I could bear witness to hundreds (maybe 1,000) women* take that Leap of Faith before my very eyes.

It’s my firm belief that the cheering on the ground, paired with the powerful teachings of Campowerment experts who inspired these campers, helped them start their climb and motivated their audacity to leap.

A sampling of expert insight to fuel your next Leap of Faith:

1) Declutter our soul, so you can hear your own voice.

In her new book “Release: Create a Clutter Free and Soul Driven Life,” Psychologist Peggy Fitzsimmons says that although our souls are inherently free, we also have an ego mind that orients us toward fear, scarcity, self-preservation, and holding on. 

With the ego mind in the driver’s seat of our lives, we are constantly accumulating clutter. Physical clutter is the most obvious, but we are also burdened with mental, emotional, energetic, and relationship clutter. 

All forms of clutter signal the same ego-driven circumstance: a soul not being true to itself. If you can clear the clutter in your mind, and lock your ego mind in the trunk, then you can set yourself free. Feel your power to trust that all will be OK if you can just let go of the junk that makes you believe it can work out for everyone except you. Read s’more in Peggy’s book, here.

2) Stay right here.

Overthinking is nothing but an illusion, created by analyzing past and future for evidence that you’ll fail. Psychotherapist Joanna Kleinman, LCSW and Bestselling Author of “Dethroning your Inner Critic,” says if you let your mind take charge, it automatically takes you to your past (where you’ve probably failed before) and to the future (where it’s easy to imagine how you’ll fail again). 

Here’s the thing: your mind ain’t YOU! What you’re hearing when you time-travel is merely your “automatic mind” trying desperately to predict and control what is completely unpredictable and uncontrollable. It’s your brain warning you to avoid risk, sending you signals that tell you to stay safe and not do anything you haven’t succeeded at before. 

My take: “Dear mind – you’ve never lived in this moment before right now! You don’t know what kind of results you could accomplish in this moment! Maybe this is the moment your life changes! Why shouldn’t it be?!” Learn tools to unhook from your automatic mind (your Inner Critic!) in Joanna’s book, here.

3) Unclench and proclaim.

There’s a new moon coming on Feb 11, and Caitlin Peterson, LCSW and Founder of The Soul School, who leads regular Moon Circles here at Campowerment, says this one is an energetic time to get our creative juices flowing.

And, Caitlin says, profound change happens when you’re in flow. “It’s a process to get to a consistent flow of faith. It’s also a conscious choice to practice it.”

Caitlin says you must first sit in the feelings of fear that are bubbling up inside your physical body and your nervous system and, “breathe into the clarity that lies underneath all the muck.” 

How to start? “Proclaim an intention and unclench your jaw (and your butt!) and make that choice to trust fall into faith.”
. . . 

Have you ever taken a Leap of Faith that’s stretched your limits? Blown you away? Changed your life? 

Dare you to share this article with your world, and tell your peeps how you’ve lived your leap — physical or emotional — and why they should, too.

*And men at corporate retreats produced by Campowerment