Did you catch the Gabby Logan interview this week with Carl Lewis and Ian Thorpe? It was about pain. Specifically, the pain an athlete has to endure in order to win a medal. Ian Thorpe described it like this:

“It’s so painful that your brain is telling you to stop but your heart is still telling you to go.

“It’s like doing a bungee jump. You look over the edge and everything in your whole being is telling you not to do it but you have to somehow push through and do it.”

What a brilliant metaphor.

Whenever we have challenges in life, be it career change, a fitness goal, a big move, our immediate response tends to be fear. Fear of change.  Changing behaviours.  Opening ourselves up to failure.  Going for it.

It happened to me last week, on two fronts. Firstly Chris and I have got the go ahead and financial backing to go ahead with our family fitness business.  It’s something we’ve dreamed of doing for a long time.  It’s an area where between us we have masses of experience and a vision we’ve been excited about for years but when the go ahead came I felt petrified and like I didn’t want to do it.

Why?  Because it means change.  Letting go of an old way of doing things and embracing change.  Taking ownership of a big risk and working hard to make a success.  It means moving out of my comfort zone.

Then I had a lovely chat with Sara from my Pilates class about moving forwards with journalism and writing.  Again, in order to move forwards I’m going to need to change behaviours.  Stop hiding behind my computer and actually pick up the phone and go out and find stories and contacts.

So here is my inspiration so far from the Olympics.  I’m going to brave jumping off the edge of a cliff with a bungee rope around my ankles . . . but metaphorically of course.

Is there anywhere in your life where you need  a little push?  Where you’re holding back. All we need to do is take that one step off the edge!