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Whilst one half of team yogaleggs is taking part in Dry January this month, on this journey we have met some incredibly inspiring people in this fabulous community. We are so grateful that Pippa Jo Marsden agreed to write a guest blog for us on “Living life on the skinny branch”.
Living life on the skinny branch
I don’t know if it is because of my ADHD (recent discovery…) or it is because of my inbuilt philosophy for wanting to make my time on earth count, but I have been living life on the skinny branch for more years than I can remember.
In a commencement speech she gave at Stanford University, JK Rowling spoke about failure and said “It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case you fail by default”
That is what I see the ‘skinny branch’ metaphor as. The tree has strong roots and a trunk, and if you lived there you would be ‘safe’ right?? Your ‘comfort zone’. Whereas the skinny branch is risk and evokes feelings of fear… or does it?
The thing is, what I have come to learn over the last 11 years of personal development, is that the ‘comfort zone’ is, for most people, actually very uncomfortable. This is one of the reasons for people feeling stuck, lost and just surviving in life.
From the outside, the comfort zone appears somewhere that protects us from the bad things in life, from things going wrong, from rejection and ridicule… It is soft and fluffy and hugs us in to keep us from danger. But what if staying within those walls is paralysing us from actually living? If we stay with the familiar and the already known then we are not growing or evolving and that feels like dying to me.
I see the skinny branch as the place I can experience the best view from, and it provides a thrilling and exhilarating feeling of freedom.
Perspective is everything. I made a choice to stop seeing my comfort zone as anything other than my known experiences thus far in life, and start breaking out into the unknown to thrive. Our brains need variety and learning is key to feeling fulfilled and successful in life. Plus when we try new things and if we set ourselves targets around attempting rather than attaining it constantly feeds into our self-esteem, self-belief, self-love and self-respect.
Standing right at the end of the skinny branch with no safety net may appear scary and potentially stupid at first, but when you start applying the philosophy of “what if it goes right” and understanding that everything in life is an opportunity for growth then you know you are winning no matter what the outcome. You either succeed or you learn, and THAT is truly living. Experiencing and growing in the moment. What a ride!
And if you end up on the floor looking back up at that branch, just do what any child would do; discipline your disappointment, dust yourself off, climb back up the trunk (which is made up of your core strength and beliefs) and get back out there.
We always have 2 choices in how we view our life events; evolve or repeat.
The definition of insanity as stated by Albert Einstein “doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results”
In my coaching methods, I encourage and guide people to challenge their perspective on what it means to them to feel awake and committed to their own personal growth.
So how about you… Are you ready to step onto the skinny branch and into your greatness?
Pippa-Jo
www.pipmeup.co.uk
pippa@pipmeup.co.uk
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mum.on.fire/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PippaJoMarsden/
