“Hey!! You!! Stop!!”
Startled, you turn quickly, losing your footing as you do so.
Your foot hits the edge of the cliff, which starts to crumble, and you begin to fall.
You grasp blindly for the sign you were standing beside “Leap and the net will appear” and manage to catch hold of it before you slide over the edge of the cliff.
I run over and help you up.
“Were you talking to me?” you gasp, fear making your heart pound and your breath quicken.
“Sorry to startle you like that” I reply. “Completely unintentional. But yes, I was calling to you. You looked like you were gearing yourself up to jump off the cliff”.
Warily, you nod.
“I could see you mouthing, 1, 2, 3 to yourself again and again… It made me think you might not be ready to jump.”
Slightly shamefaced, you nod again.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of”, I say. “Have you looked over the edge of the cliff yet?”.
You shake your head and admit that it wasn’t even something you thought to do.
I lead you over to an observatory platform, which you also admit you had failed to see, so focused were you on both the sign “Leap and the net will appear” and your own compulsion to jump.
Together we walk to the end of the viewing platform and I point down into the valley.
You gasp and take an involuntary step backwards.
“What..??” you whisper.
“I call it the Valley of Broken Dreams and Wishful Thinking”, I state. The floor of the valley below us is littered with crumpled bodies, broken by the fall from the cliff above.
A tiny path wends its way up the side of the cliff and we see people clawing, crawling, and staggering their way back to the top.
As we turn to leave the viewing platform your eye is caught by a person staggering off the top of the pathway. Without pausing to look around they limp over to a cardboard cutout of a curvy woman with the words “$10k months guaranteed” written on it.
They swipe their credit card and with a whirring noise a catapoult rises from the ground. The person quickly clambers into it and within the blink of an eye, is sent soaring over the canyon.
We hear their echoing cry of “Nooooo, not again” as they begin to plummet downwards.
You turn towards me, shocked. “What is going on here?” you ask.
“This is the place where people choose to pursue their dreams and goals” I reply. “But all too often their dreams are built on wishful thinking and motivational quotes. Look!”.
I point along the rim of the cliff and for the first time you see that it is peppered with signs promising things like “Prince Charming 4eva”, “weight loss guaranteed”, and “you deserve to be happy”.
"Even the sky has a message for you" I say, pointing up.
“There’s nothing wrong with these things, in and of themselves” I explain, “but people tend to take the leap without giving themselves any scaffolding. They so desperately want a massive change in their lives and so they take that massive jump, but all too often they end up broken on the valley floor.
"Lots of people will leap again and again in the hopes that this time things will be different.”
You nod at that, a thoughtful look on your face.
“Most people fail to see this path over here”. Together we walk to a pathway that meanders away from the edge of the cliff. There are no flashing lights promising “your dreams can come true”.
I click my fingers and the bushes at the start of the pathway rustle, revealing two signs:
"Who ARE these people" you exclaim, "and more to the point, who are YOU?"
"Ah, yes," I reply, "It was a little rude of me not to introduce myself. Sarah Chann's the name. Although I'm better known as the Catalyst... or maybe you've heard of me as the Darkness Whisperer? No..?? Well, these people are simple holograms designed to share my message in an interesting way. Not your cup of tea? No worries...
"Now, where was I?
“Small steps are not sexy” I say, “so most people dismiss them. They want to make huge commitments for themselves, which they fail to follow through on again and again. But everyone around them is doing it too, so they think it’s normal. When they scroll Facebook and Instagram they see perfect people promoting perfect lifestyles. People telling them abundant wealth, incredible health, and eternal happiness are available with one flying leap of trust.
"And sometimes, some people do achieve what they desire. They do leap and the net does appear, which only encourages everyone else to keep leaping and then crumpling into the Valley of Broken Dreams and Wishful Thinking.
"When someone leaps and the net appears and they achieve their wild, audacious dreams we never ask what led them to their success. We assume that it was their bold leap. More often than not it was because they chose to walk this path.”
“Well, what happens on that path?” you ask.
“This is the pathway of small, habitual changes (also known as the Purposeful Pathway)” I reply.
“Small changes” you scoff. “They’re not going to get me to where I want to go. I’ve got big dreams. I don’t want to keep struggling anymore. I want those other things. I want wealth. I want health. I want happiness. What’s wrong with that?”.
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” I counter. “But those dreams only become achievable when…” I stop.
“Actually,” I say, “I don’t want to keep you here. Honestly, if the big leap is where your heart is set then please don’t let me hold you from it. I only set people on this pathway who are ready to do things a different way. People who are ready for sustainable change.
"This pathway is for people who are willing to do things differently. Maybe it feels slow in the beginning but,” I click my fingers twice and two more signs appear:
“But the honest truth is that small changes have a cumulative effect. Not only are they achievable, but they’re sustainable. This pathway is only for people who are truly committed to change – they’ve had enough of wishful thinking and hoping that things will change and finding that they never do. This time they are ready to dig deep and do the work that is required to get what they want.
"So, what will it be for you? You can head back and keep psyching yourself up for the big leap or you can step onto this pathway here.”
You pause and consider. It’s a big decision. The pathway of small, habitual changes doesn’t look particularly promising. But you’ve also had enough of leaping off cliffs and hoping for the best.