A crack in the glass

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Ever had a crack in your windshield?

They tend to grow, from a little tiny scratch, barely worth noticing, to a monstrously large spiderweb in a fairly short amount of time, and what’s more, as the crack gets bigger, its rate of growth accelerates. The vibration of the car, of your driving, makes the glass crack all the more quickly. The speed from a scratch to an inch takes time – the speed from an inch to a foot is startlingly fast, and before you know it, you’re at the shop getting a new windshield.

When it comes to limitations, whether internal or external, breaking through them very often isn’t a sledgehammer’s swing to victory. More often, it’s just a small crack in the glass – but that first breaking point is the key to that barrier eventually shattering into dust.

For example, there’s a student at the Boston Martial Arts Center who’s relatively new. For privacy reasons, we’ll just call her Katie. Started not too long ago. She came in with no confidence, no belief in herself, and not even a clear sense of why she was there. Katie started taking classes, started learning just a few of the basics, and one day during a class I was teaching, she delivered a solid lead jab to her partner’s heavily-padded target. Her partner, a guy who probably outweighs her by a hundred pounds or so, was knocked back and down.

That was the crack in the glass for Katie. Prior to that day, the idea of knocking down someone with a lead jab was ludicrous for her. But in that moment, the glass cracked, and suddenly what was impossible was not only possible, but real. That changed her instantaneously and irrevocably, and now, just a few weeks later, Katie’s a different person. Her mind shattered a limitation and is now wondering what other barriers and limitations she has that are equally vulnerable, equally breakable.

The momentum of the glass cracking is picking up.

Now, you don’t have to be a martial artist to experience this. You do have to be willing to step outside your comfort zone, try something out, be completely okay with failing, and be tenacious in trying until you do reach at least one success, until you know that impossible is possible and can be made manifest, made real. Maybe it’s cooking a new dish that’s legendary for its difficulty. Maybe it’s publicly showing that painting you’re privately proud of but anxious about others seeing. Maybe it’s standing in front of an audience and speaking for half an hour.

Whatever your limitations are, know that once you make even the tiniest crack in them, as long as you keep driving, momentum will be on your side, and your barriers can be shattered.

Keep on driving!


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Comments

13 responses to “A crack in the glass”

  1. I'm a relatively picky eater. Though, a few years ago there was a 'crack in my glass' and I began to expand my palette. Soon, I was eating all kinds of new things.

    I still don't eat everything, but I'm always looking for something new to try and it has lifted a somewhat 'fear of foods' off my shoulders. ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. I love this post, Chris. What a great way to describe how all change starts with the realization of possibility. In another part of my life I coach people through weight loss, which requires change on more levels–and in more areas–than most folks ever dream of when they first start the process. In the beginning, most people think they can't do it–or if they can, that it won't stick.

    To them I say, “You don't have to believe you can, but you can't believe you can't.” Change is a leap of faith. We're comfortable where we are, and though it may have drawbacks, it's familiar. The gap between where we are and where we want to be can feel huge.

    The shift comes from *acting* differently. If you act like the person you want to be, eventually you are that person, whether you thought you could or not.

  3. It also helps considerably if you don't know how thick the glass really is (and just keep pushing).

    That's my method for success…just be relentless. Keep going until everyone else quits or gets bored.

  4. mikemcallen Avatar
    mikemcallen

    My good friend once told me the secret of his success is to try and do something that scares him everyday. This post reminds me of that. It reminds me of my leap of faith when I was a firefighter climbing a very tall ladder for the first time in training. The pucker factor was unbelievable for me being afraid of heights but once it was over it made me a better person to have attacked my fears and pushed forward through the training to eventually carry another person down that same ladder…….

    Keep pushing

    Thank you for this post Chris…

  5. I'm a relatively picky eater. Though, a few years ago there was a 'crack in my glass' and I began to expand my palette. Soon, I was eating all kinds of new things.

    I still don't eat everything, but I'm always looking for something new to try and it has lifted a somewhat 'fear of foods' off my shoulders. ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. I love this post, Chris. What a great way to describe how all change starts with the realization of possibility. In another part of my life I coach people through weight loss, which requires change on more levels–and in more areas–than most folks ever dream of when they first start the process. In the beginning, most people think they can't do it–or if they can, that it won't stick.

    To them I say, “You don't have to believe you can, but you can't believe you can't.” Change is a leap of faith. We're comfortable where we are, and though it may have drawbacks, it's familiar. The gap between where we are and where we want to be can feel huge.

    The shift comes from *acting* differently. If you act like the person you want to be, eventually you are that person, whether you thought you could or not.

  7. It also helps considerably if you don't know how thick the glass really is (and just keep pushing).

    That's my method for success…just be relentless. Keep going until everyone else quits or gets bored.

  8. mikemcallen Avatar
    mikemcallen

    My good friend once told me the secret of his success is to try and do something that scares him everyday. This post reminds me of that. It reminds me of my leap of faith when I was a firefighter climbing a very tall ladder for the first time in training. The pucker factor was unbelievable for me being afraid of heights but once it was over it made me a better person to have attacked my fears and pushed forward through the training to eventually carry another person down that same ladder…….

    Keep pushing

    Thank you for this post Chris…

  9. joemueller Avatar
    joemueller

    Christopher,

    Great stuff. Everyone is on a journey and can only progress at the pace they set. Your post is great encouragement. My career is devoted to helping adults execute a program–Scouting–that helps kids begin to “crack the glass.” Character education in the schools also is providing this encouragement. But I'm thankful for all of the adult volunteer leaders in Scouting and throughout my educational years that stuck with me and encouraged me until my glass started breaking.

    Woody Allen said something like, “Ninety percent of life is just showing up.” Sometimes, we begin to break the glass just by showing up. And social media is helping me and other people reach out to comment, guide and encourage making the world a better place.

    Thanks for reminding people to keep going.

    -joe

  10. joemueller Avatar
    joemueller

    Christopher,

    Great stuff. Everyone is on a journey and can only progress at the pace they set. Your post is great encouragement. My career is devoted to helping adults execute a program–Scouting–that helps kids begin to “crack the glass.” Character education in the schools also is providing this encouragement. But I'm thankful for all of the adult volunteer leaders in Scouting and throughout my educational years that stuck with me and encouraged me until my glass started breaking.

    Woody Allen said something like, “Ninety percent of life is just showing up.” Sometimes, we begin to break the glass just by showing up. And social media is helping me and other people reach out to comment, guide and encourage making the world a better place.

    Thanks for reminding people to keep going.

    -joe

  11. My crack in the glass – getting my first good grades at uni. Until that point I had resigned myself that I was just an average student – never considered that I could do anything better.

    Now I cant believe it took me so long to realize that I CAN get good marks, and I am not limited to being 'average' ๐Ÿ™‚ whole new world of possibilities!

    Very cool article.

  12. My crack in the glass – getting my first good grades at uni. Until that point I had resigned myself that I was just an average student – never considered that I could do anything better.

    Now I cant believe it took me so long to realize that I CAN get good marks, and I am not limited to being 'average' ๐Ÿ™‚ whole new world of possibilities!

    Very cool article.

  13. My crack in the glass – getting my first good grades at uni. Until that point I had resigned myself that I was just an average student – never considered that I could do anything better.

    Now I cant believe it took me so long to realize that I CAN get good marks, and I am not limited to being 'average' ๐Ÿ™‚ whole new world of possibilities!

    Very cool article.

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