Taking the Leap

leap

It is only 315 miles away, but it feels like a million. At least that’s what I kept telling myself as I drove down the interstate road connecting the place I grew up to the place I’d soon be calling my new home. That was about eight years ago and I still consider it one of the best decisions of my life.

My decision to move was easy; I’d been thinking about moving to Minneapolis for years. But putting my desire into action was really difficult. My biggest hurdle was internal. I’d never lived anywhere else before and Minneapolis was a much larger city than I was used to living in. Of course, I had other difficulties too. Where would I find a job, where will I live and how will I get my stuff there?

Of course that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a scary decision, far from it. Just consider that I was leaving the place in which I was born, grew up and went to college. I’d traveled to many different places, but I’d only had one home. And I had decided to make one of the biggest changes I’d ever faced.

But I kept telling myself that I had to find a way to overcome my difficulties. This move wasn’t something I felt like doing; I had to do it. My hometown had become suffocating and I no longer had any reasons to stay there. I needed a big city where I could re-invent myself.

Looking back on it, I can see why it took me so long to make this transition. My goal was to find a job first and then sign an apartment. I made many attempts to get myself set up in Minneapolis, but nothing seemed to really work. I went to job interviews and looked at several apartments. I even asked others for advice on what to do. But still it just remained a dream.

Eventually I realized that nothing would change unless I took some drastic action. What happened gave me a life lesson that radically changed the way I look at everything.

I decided to take a leap.

I abandoned my original goal of finding a job first and just signed a lease on the first good, reasonably-priced apartment I could find. I was really excited about the move, but terrified about the prospect of paying for an apartment with savings until I could find employment. I knew the risk, but I was absolutely willing to take it.

My fears turned out to be unjustified. To my surprise, I found a job within one week of getting the apartment. I thought long and hard about why it took me so long beforehand to find a job and apartment. Everything went so quickly now.

And then I figured it out.

I had not given myself any other option but success. Because I signed the lease on the apartment, I had committed fully to living in Minneapolis. I no longer had any safety net and getting a job became something I HAD to do. In addition to that, I stopped dividing my focus between getting a job and finding an apartment. Once I no longer had a safety net and could focus entirely on finding a job, I got it.

This life lesson taught me that you sometimes just have to take the leap.

Photo by sabrina’s stash

14 thoughts on “Taking the Leap”

  1. Good story with a great lesson! I liken it to breastfeeding…the milk doesn’t start flowing until you put the baby to the breast. I agree that we must absolutely takes leaps of faith, leaping into the unknown, trusting that something good will come out of it. Keep up the great writing!

  2. Steve, this article resonates with me as I took a similar decision a few times in my life. I left from my small home town in Russia for America when I was 19 and did it entirely on my own. Then left my job, friends, home again to follow my love to Singapore and after four years that was done too – I moved again! And although it was a dramatic and a very challenging experience every time, I learnt so much from ‘leaping’. I discovered the world, understood myself better and met amazing people along the way. Thank you for your article!

  3. AGreat post Steve. And I can tell you that taking that leap is not something one does once. After many adventerous leaps of faith I couldn’t agree with more that when you give yourself no alternative but to succeed, suucceed you do. I appreciate the read as I am at this very moment, considering yet another leap and reinvention of myself.

  4. I did the same thing eight years ago….but I came kicking and screaming and felt like I was dumped on the steps of a new apartment….giving up my home of 27 years…after a nasty divorce…but by the grace of God….it has been the best thing I have done for myself in my life…..finding a job took a year….finding the right church too a year…..but I learned alot in that year….I am a better person to myself and other now and love my life.
    Thank you for sharing yours.

  5. It often seem to be the most impossible thing at time but living it, is a different thing altogether as you explore yourself and the situation and learn the most important lessons of your life.

  6. Amazing article, thanx for sharing.

    I believe everyone had such a leap in his/her life, whether it was by force or decision they made. But unfortunately; only few who try to figure out the lesson.

    Rami

  7. Well-told, inspiring story, Steve. Reading a great novel now by David Guy called Jake Fades. It’s about a bicycle mechanic in Maine who is also a Zen master and trying to pass along wisdom to some friends before he’s overtaken by dementia. He tells one guy who’s struggling with his career but is scared to change that “sometimes you have to jump into the dark.” That’s what you did. Thanks for sharing.

  8. Leap of faith ! YES !
    And ..that is what is easiest thing to do as well as hardest thing to pursue..
    But “A Leap” is required,tht’s it…!
    Attending Learning Accelerator Workshop and reading your article..both made me realize :)
    Thnq !!
    All i need to do is to take,a LEAP !!

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