Back to Article
Index
Between Trapezes: Introduction
by Gail Blanke
Read an excerpt from Gail Blanke's new book,
Between Trapezes
We all know the moment.
The man on the flying trapeze sheds his sweeping cape and glittering costume.
High on the big top, he grabs the bar, lifts off the pedestal and then swings—one,
two, three times. Craning our necks to the sky, we watch with our hearts in our
throats, waiting for the big moment. Then it happens: He releases the bar. For
three glorious seconds he’s in mid-air, one bar fading behind him, the other
floating forward.
Watching the trapeze
artist soar through the air with the greatest of ease, we grasp that this is the
most thrilling part of his act. This is where he defies gravity. This is where
he flies. We understand that the moment between trapezes is a magical time, the
time when anything can happen, the time when there is no past, no future, only
the present. Though much as we may sense that this magical mid-air suspension is
all part of the thrill, few of us ever permit ourselves to savor such sweet
moments in our own lives. Most of us don’t want to be in between, and in fact do
everything in our power to avoid those marvelous, pit-of-the-stomach, free-fall
moments, usually because we worry that we might fall, and fail. If anything, few
of can think of few things worse than being caught in between jobs, careers,
relationships, lives. It’s terrifying. It’s embarrassing. It’s shameful. It’s
painful. It’s not where we want to be.
Yet that’s precisely the
place where so many of us find ourselves at the dawn of the 21st Century. We
live in a time of unprecedented uncertainty and insecurity. Employees who once
trusted their bosses feel betrayed. Entrepreneurs who once trusted their skills
and imagination are now experiencing crushing self-doubt. Families who trusted
the stock market are finding their retirement and college funds decimated. And
after September 11, everyone who trusted that the strength and power of the
United States government could keep them safe has suffered a devastating blow.
Security with a big “S” seems to be a thing of the past. Job security, financial
security, personal security and national security all seem to have flown out the
window.
As an executive coach
and motivational speaker, I’ve worked with thousands of people who have been
sideswiped by life: The media executive who lost her job at the same time as her
husband was diagnosed with cancer. The financial planner who lost her husband in
the attacks on the World Trade Center. The real estate executive forced into
early retirement. These people were hurled into the air, with no new trapeze in
sight.
And I have also worked
with many men and women who actively yearned for their life to change, who
sought out a new life, but didn’t quite know how to make it happen or didn’t
feel as if they deserved something better. Some were business people who were
basically satisfied with their careers, but didn’t know how to take the next
step. Others knew where they wanted to go, but didn’t know how to get there.
Others, like the young banker who was so miserable in her position that she felt
like she was in jail, were simply stuck. Another client, a lawyer, used to
fantasize that she’d get hit by a car and break a leg, just so she could spend
some time relaxing in the hospital. All of these people felt trapped, and sensed
something worthwhile was missing in their lives. So they desperately clung to
their old trapeze, losing momentum with each half-hearted swing.
With so much uncertainty
pervading the world these days, almost anyone can make a strong case for being a
victim, for being resigned, for sitting on the sidelines. That’s what we do in
difficult times we shut ourselves down and cling to what’s known.
But I’d like to suggest
a sizzling, soaring, blood-pumping, pulse-racing high-flying alternative: What
if you were to embrace the uncertainty? What if you were to see this
state of groundlessness as a good thing? What if, for once in your life, you
allowed yourself to not know the future, to assume the role of adventurer in
your own life? Isn’t the whole point of a great adventure that you don’t know
the outcome, and anything can happen? Isn’t that why adventures are so
intrinsically thrilling?
There is, I believe, a
glorious flip-side to being in-between, and I am here to help you celebrate it.
Far from being a time to get through, these between-trapezes moments can
actually be the most invigorating, most fulfilling time of your life. Because
when you allow yourself to not know the future, that’s when you find your edge.
If you can allow yourself to lean into this open space, you’ll find that it’s a
time of stunning discovery and tremendous growth.
Next Page >>
Back to Article
Index |
