Learning the Ropes

Yikes! That's me!

As part of my NLP certification (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) we took a ropes challenge course, and I want to share this experience with you.

The course was facilitated by Dick and Lura Hammond and located on their farm in Ponder, Texas. http://www.leadershiponthemove.com/old/

Contrary to what you may think, a ropes course challenge is not all about physical ability. I was one of two personal trainers in our group and while there may have been a natural expectation that we might “ace” the course, this was nothing like the challenges we face in the gym. It was really about the challenges we face in our own head!

Everybody is born with the fear of falling… the common misnomer is “fear of heights”. Fear of falling is a good thing, because it keeps us safe.

Even with all the safety procedures, ropes, helmets, harnesses, spotters… we naturally have an innate fear of falling. The ropes challenge course moves us out of our comfort zone and into problem solving, goal setting, communication and trust. The end result is even though fears may block our personal achievement, we can move into a successful experience.

This powerful experience exemplifies our ability to find resources and make changes when faced with difficult challenges so we can reach our outcomes.

The first half of the day we tackled the low ropes challenge course. This tested our ability to work together as a team.

Everybody participated at every moment. If you weren’t doing the challenge yourself you were there to coach and assist the people who were. Both roles, equally important, worked with synergism and were rich with self-discovery. You found ways to support other people.

A few of the low ropes courses looked easy until you got on them. It would have been easy to give up. Encouragement, support of the spotters, our NLP teacher, Susan Stageman, and help of the facilitators fueled your desire to keep going in spite of the difficulty.

Had the support people not been there, it would have been easy to quit at the first obstacle. They were not going to let you give up or let you fall down.

At times you fell off the wire or log you were walking across, but your spotters put you upright again. You found getting back on wasn’t so bad. You simply picked up where you left off… no big deal! One way or another you got to the destination… or goal.

On the high ropes challenge course we came prepared with a short-term goal and a long-term goal. With those goals in mind, and your entire group reminding you about them, you were all the more motivated to get through the course. If you could get past the fear of the high ropes course, you could probably do just about anything!

The experience paralleled your fears or beliefs that hold you back from having the outcomes you desire. You had to find ways to overcome them.

At the end of the day, you learn to trust yourself, and turn off all those little voices inside your head that say “you can’t do it”. You realize and appreciate the value of the support you get from others to get things done. You learn if you want to change, you have to stop doing what feels comfortable… reach into the unknown, grow, be the best you can be and live life to its fullest.

It might seem the challenge of losing 10 pounds feels about as likely to happen as jumping off a telephone pole and reaching out for a trapeze bar. Maybe you have “fallen off” the diet and exercise plan one too many times.

Do you give up and say, “What’s the use?” or… do you have a coach or a trainer who holds you accountable? Are there people in your network, friends at the gym, family members, best friends from college, office mates who pick you up and keep you motivated when the going gets tough?

Gaining skills from a mentor, trainer or coach holds you accountable. This supports your social network increasing your chances of success exponentially. This is not to say you cannot do it alone… nobody can exercise and eat for you. But with a supportive environment there is no telling what you can accomplish or how fast.

Sometimes challenges start off okay, but then you realize you have to change your strategy… what worked in the beginning no longer works anymore. You have hit the proverbial plateau… your weight, your strength, or your endurance doesn’t seem to change.

When something stops working, it is feedback telling you to change what you are doing in order to continue to create a change in you. Sometimes making that change is hard!

I don’t expect everyone to go out and find a ropes challenge course to help them solve their nutrition or exercise problems. I do think this experience has value for any struggle or problem area in your life. Just like the ropes challenge, many challenges take place between the ears. It is our human nature to find resources from others to help us along the way.

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