Sunday Story…It's Duckie

A friend of mine used to gauge interest in something by what was known as the “duck” index. This index was very simple…think about a small child, maybe 4 or 5 years old, who is at a pond where there are lots of ducks. And the child is feeding the ducks pieces of bread and laughing and giggling and loving every second of the experience. Watching a child do this is an expression of unbridled joy and happiness. So when an activity is high on my “duck” index I am all in for the experience.

If you think back on your life you have had some experiences that were pretty darn high on the “duck” index. Skydiving was like that for me the first time. When I stepped out of that airplane in the first milli-second my “duck” index was off the chart. In the seconds before that my heart was in my throat, though.

This is often the case with things that elicit a high response. There is some fear and trepidation before going stepping off the ledge…whatever the ledge it for you. The ledge could be asking out that person you have wanted to ask out for so long. The ledge may be signing up for a race, or a class, or committing to a goal. The fact is simple: if it doesn’t scare you a little it isn’t big enough, hard enough, or challenging enough.

Living a life of mediocrity, of average experiences is not going to move the needle on the “duck” index. You need to find things that are going to hit your “duck” index. Things that excite and scare you. Things that when you finally get done you will know they have a permanent residence in your memory banks.

I don’t need the video from my skydiving excursion to remember it. There is a tape I can play in my head at any time. My walk to work this morning I forgot before I was here. No “duck” index on this one.

Find your “duck” index…your “heck yeah” factor. Call it whatever you want but find it. Then find experience that will put that index over the top. It is passion that will fuel your life and success. It is being a little (or a lot) scared right before you jump that will get your life out of the mundane and into the extraordinary.

Do something today that will raise your “duck” index. Have fun with it!

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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