Aren’t the contradictions of life and leadership a kick? On the one hand we’re told that the journey of thousand miles begins with a single step. Even my last post focused on taking it one step at a time. But on the other hand, we’re told not to be afraid of giant leaps–you can’t cross a chasm in two small steps.
Have you ever been faced with the predicament of figuring out: is this a giant leap moment, or a journey of a thousand miles–to be taken step by step?
How do you decide?
How do you know whether something is a step or a chasm? Metaphors can get so tricky. If we were speaking strictly physically, it wouldn’t be that complicated. But then again, even that’s not necessarily true. When faced with an obvious chasm, Evil Knievel took the leap. But when he tried to cross the Snake River Canyon in one giant leap, he ended up breaking every bone in his body in the process.
We can try and leap the canyon, or take the longer, safer way step by step–all the way down, across, and up the other side.
So the question isn’t necessarily whether it’s a chasm or not, but rather what is your goal? What is your risk level? What’s the right answer for you? What kind of time do you have? What are your resources? It’s all circumstantial. True leadership requires that constant presence of mind to know when to step and when to leap–because there isn’t always one right answer.
Photo source here.
