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Smart Women Get Back On the Pogo Stick

Written by: Joy Chudacoff

Article Overview: When we set out to accomplish a Big Idea or goal, there will be times that we will encounter some challenges or obstacles. It’s just natural. They key is to get back up and get re-focused on your goal and keep moving. It’s like learning to ride a Pogo Stick. At first, you may fall off when trying to learn but eventually you will master riding the Pogo Stick and you won’t fall off anymore. What we focus on becomes our reality.

Smart Women Get Back On the Pogo Stick

The other day as we were driving to school, my daughter Jenna boldly stated, “Mom, for my birthday, I want a Pogo Stick.” This statement made me curious so I asked her, “Jenna, why do you want a Pogo Stick?” Jenna’s reply was “Mom, it’s easy. You just get on, fall off, get back up, and get on again. Then you learn how to do it.” Very true, my adventurous 5- year old. As we continued down pacific coast highway, this answer got me thinking about achieving goals and dreams and the process we need to go through before really making the impossible possible in our lives.

There are times when we have a big idea or goal and we might take a step toward making it happen. However, we will often come across a challenge or obstacle that stops us in our tracks. Unfortunately, we may give up on our goals, without getting back on our “stick.” Didn’t we all go through this process as kids learning how to ride a bike without the training wheels? Lots of skinned knees!

Did you know that before Edison was hailed as a genius for inventing the light bulb, he discovered more than 1,000 wrong ways to make it? When you really stop and reflect on this fact, you begin to realize that true success in meeting your own dreams and goals is a process of getting on the Pogo Stick, falling off, and getting on again. Here’s the dilemma, I think. The fear of failure can sometimes be rooted so deeply in our core that we would rather stay in our comfort zone than take a risk, or try something new where we may not make it happen. In my work with women, we talk about different levels of tension that pop up on the way to realizing our dreams, goals, and ideas. When you are on a path to passion and purpose in your life, you will encounter different levels of tension along the way. At each crossroad, you will again need to become intentional about the journey you are taking. Ask yourself the question: “Do I still feel passionate about this goal?” “Is this a challenge that I want to overcome?” Notice that I used the word “want” not “can.” If you truly want to make something happen in your life, it can be done. What you focus on will become your reality.

How about you? Do you have a big idea that you would like to achieve but the fear of “falling off” keeps you from getting on, or getting back on? In my work with women, we hold a vision of what’s possible in the future if they take the steps to get on the Pogo Stick, fall off, and get on again. This is where a positive support system is crucial. It’s essential that you have a coach, a mentor, someone who champions you by your side, to be there when you fall off. I get so excited when I work with women who are in the process of realizing their dreams, goals, and ideas. I think the most important lesson I’ve learned over the years is to watch for the “tensions”—the obstacles. Because that’s what they are, just an obstacle that has been put in our way to test us. It’s a check-point to see if this is truly what we want to happen in our lives.

“One can’t believe impossible things.”


“I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. ‘When I was your age,
I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’d believed as many as
six impossible things before breakfast.”

Dialogue between Alice and the Queen of Hearts,
“Through the Looking Glass” by Lewis Carroll.

Anything is possible. Everything is waiting for you.

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Article Tags: achieving goals, comfort zone, crossroad, dilemma, edison, fear of failure, genius, goals and dreams, how to ride a bike, learning how to ride a bike, light bulb, obstacle, pacific coast, pacific coast highway, passion and purpose, pogo stick, skinned knees, tension, training wheels, true success



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