Personal Growth Planet Blog

Every morning I do sit ups and supported back bends over a big plastic balance ball. After I’ve stretched and moved my body in this way, it feels so good. It’s an infusion to my system that helps me prepare for what’s ahead that day.

But, as I reach my hands backward, toward the floor, my balance is challenged. My body is gently pulled just a little bit more than it’s used to being pulled.

This is an uncomfortable feeling. Sometimes, I tumble right off the ball onto the floor. Other times, I notice myself holding back– not fully giving my all to the backward bending.

And, yet other times, I surrender to the stretch. I allow my hands to meet with the floor and I even deepen the lengthening of my muscles.

It can feel so wonderful to stretch in this way.

Each and every day, all of us are given multiple opportunities to stretch. I’m not talking about doing sit ups and back bends on a balance ball, either!

In just about every moment, we make choices to continue to be and do things in the way that we’ve always done them, or to try something new.

Quite often, this doesn’t involve anything all that radical. When you drink a latte instead of espresso, for example, you might notice caffeine-related effects, but this isn’t such a huge difference from your normal routine.

What I’m talking about are the ways that we choose– or don’t choose– to respond differently to the person who pushes our buttons, to speak more honestly and openly about what we want, to veer off the path we’ve been on for so long and try something completely new.

I’m referring to the stretches that any one of us might decide to take while traveling through life.

The benefits of going where you never thought you’d ever go…
When you take the stretch, it can most certainly be risky and scary. It can also be transformative and bring you more fulfillment and joy than you literally ever thought was possible.

It’s too easy to settle into the groove we’ve each created for ourselves. Yes, we take vacations, try new foods, meet new friends, change jobs, etc. but there are particular parameters within which each of us operates.

I tend to be a pretty planned out kind of woman. My husband likes to tease me when we’re packing for a trip and I’m referring to my lists a day or two in advance of our departure, suitcases already open and partially filled. For me, there’s something reassuring about knowing what’s coming up and also feeling that there is ground under my feet.

That’s the thing about taking the stretch…you can’t always feel the ground under your feet when you reach for something new. You don’t even know for sure that there will be a solid place to land.

Thus, the tendency– for even the most spontaneous of people– is to keep things as they are. The variations are kept within a box, of relative size.

What happens when the box is thrown out and that risky leap is taken?

Sometimes you fall and sometimes you end up being and doing things that are beyond your wildest imagination. This is the benefit of taking the stretch.

Don’t think too much about it…
When I am faced with the choice to stretch or to stay put where I am, my thinking can get in the way.

At times like these, I worry about falling, failing or causing harm to myself or another person. I fear losing all that I have as I gamble. I rationalize to myself that I’ve done it this way in the past and it’s always worked– why change things now? Or, conversely, I remember a time when I tried something like this stretch I’m contemplating and it ended disastrously.

When you are about to breach the boundaries of the box that you’ve built, it’s advisable to question and challenge thoughts of this nature. Asking yourself the very simple, yet powerful, question “Why not?” may help.

At the same time, there are advantages to offering some thought to an idea before acting. There is such a thing as over-stretching, after all.

My own intention is to recognize opportunities when they arise and– from the vantage point of this present moment– follow them if I’m inspired to do so.

The trick is not to run off in hundreds of directions at once as interesting people and situations come into your awareness, but at the same time, not to talk yourself out of a risk merely because it’s foreign, weird or something you believe others may disapprove of.

Be gentle with yourself as you take a stretch. Don’t shove down your resistance or trepidation.

Instead, acknowledge that you are being courageous and offer yourself kindness, love and patience to bolster your courage. Above all, continue to stretch. Do it in your unique way and in your time.

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Tags: expansion, opportunity, personal growth, risk, Self-Improvement, stretch