When I am watching the Summer Olympics or a track and field competition, I am always amazed by the high jump. I know many of you already know, but for those that do not, the high jump is a competition where one must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging the bar. This normally involves the athlete propelling his or her body flat over the bar and crashing into a thick padded mat on the other side of the bar. Most people do not grow up doing this, so I imagine there is a little apprehension in every athlete before attempting the high jump for the first time. Once one learns the skill, he or she must decide where to set the bar to practice. With repetition, the athlete gets better and inevitably raises the bar to see if he or she can beat a previous best. Coaches and teammates help encourage the athlete to challenge him or herself to raise the bar so that the athlete reaches his or her full potential. That bar is very important – imagine it would not be a very interesting sport if that bar were not there to measure success.
One can draw congruencies with the high jump and life. To be a success, we often have to attempt to do things that may not seem natural to us. Once we learn a new skill, we often need to set a goal of how to do this skill better. Parents, teachers, other adult leaders and our friends help us to develop realistic, but challenging goals. Oftentimes, when we achieve a level of mastery defined by our goal, we 'raise the bar' and start working towards that new goal. Yet, sometimes people live with no goals in mind. They wake up, eat and do as little as possible until it is time to sleep again. One might say that life like this is as pointless as competing in the high jump without a bar.
I encourage you to live a life full of goals. When you clear the bar you have set for yourself, either raise it or apply focus to another goal. Be realistic, but optimistic. Set timeframes and hold yourself accountable for progress. Empower family and friends to cheer and/or goad you along. Keep trying until you clear the bar.
On my honor, I will do my best…