Our blog topic for this month is personal growth. I recently listened to a podcast about this topic and thought it would be a great topic for our blog. But first, let me tell you a bit about our son Tyler. Ty is the kid in the picture with the rope. You can probably tell he is in a climbing gym. Ty started climbing for fun a little over a year ago and competitively a few months back. He is a natural-born climber, and since he was tiny, I could barely keep him on the ground. He is pretty talented, and we can’t wait to see how far his climbing “career” goes. The first of this year, he joined his teammates for the lead rope climbing season. This is a totally different type of climbing than he is used to. The main idea is he is harnessed to a rope, and there is a person on the ground belaying him. However, there is no rope at the top of the wall to catch him if he falls. He has to clip himself in periodically as he climbs, so if he falls, the clip will then catch him. At his first lead rope competition a couple of weekends ago, this was only the second time he had climbed this way. He had 4 routes to climb and 3 attempts to “top” (make it to the top w/o falling), each one. We had high hopes as he harnessed up for his first route. He made it maybe 1/4 of the way up before falling. “That’s ok, bud,” we encouraged him. “You’ll get it next time!” But the next time, it was a similar story. After about his 3rd attempt, he was pretty frustrated and wanted to quit & go home. These are those tough moments as a parent when you see the pain and frustration in your kiddo’s eyes and want to just fix it for them. After swallowing down that urge, I gently told him that we weren’t going to leave and encouraged him to try again. His coach came over at about that time and joined in the pep talk. Reminding him that these routes are much harder than what he is used to climbing at our home gym. That this is his very first lead rope competition, and the route setters don’t want him to reach the top. The funny thing is, he wasn’t even using phrases like, “I know you you can top this!” or “Here is how you make it to the top, bud.” He was reminding him of training tips that he knows from practice to get him just one hold higher, just one more clip on that really tough route, just one more foothold on that one where he overextended. He took the pressure of making it to the top out of the equation and reminded him to focus on the moment and his training to just do better next time than the last time. After some coaxing from his coaches and us, he got back up there. And ya know what!? He got higher! He ended up using all 3 attempts on 3 of the 4 routes. He was bruised and even a bit bloody, but by the end, he got progressively higher on each, and in the process, he got his smile and his confidence back too!
How does this relate?
As I contemplated personal growth and how to get my thoughts down, I was reminded of the courage of my little dude. It would have been easier to pack it in for the day. It would have saved a bit of embarrassment in front of all the other climbers (most of which were struggling on these tough routes too) and parents there, not to put himself out there again to fail. But where would that have gotten him? Ty has big dreams for climbing. He would never achieve them if he gave in to the fear and disappointment of the moment. So let me ask you… what are your dreams? Do you have personal and/or professional goals? Have you taken steps to reach them? If so, have you persevered through the falls or given up?
During our process of starting and growing Small Escapes, we have had more roadblocks and setbacks than I can count! Even recently, since setting our sights on South Padre! We have definitely wanted to give up, and definitely questioned our own sanity in continuing to push forward against all odds. But our dream is way too big, ya’ll! (I own a bit of TX now, so I need to start adding ya’ll to my vocabulary, don’t ya think!?) And ya know what? Each time we choose to get back up to the wall after falling, we learn something new to help us on the next route. WE GROW. We change! And change is uncomfy, but that is how we achieve those great big dreams, guys! Others don’t get it and may think we are crazy for trying again. We have bruises and scars, but we keep pushing, we keep climbing, we keep clipping onto the wall, so to speak, because even when we fall, we win! The pastor’s kid in me loves the analogy in this because the devil doesn’t want us to reach our dreams and plans that God has birthed in us for our business, for our marriage, for our family and legacy, just like those route setters didn’t want Ty to reach the top. But we have a support if we choose to use it! We just can’t forget to clip into Jesus and each other for support on the way and we will always be caught on the way down, if we fall!
So… I encourage you to pick up those dreams you’ve set to the side. Dust them off and start climbing. I guarantee you will grow, and those dreams you once thought impossible will start becoming a reality each time you get a bit higher!
Ty getting tips from one of his coaches.