Planking Under Pressure
Once upon a time
There was a boy called John
John grew up in a remote town at the edge of the world (in New Zealand)
John was a curious boy
He loved to play pretend
His favourite thing was to dress up with his friends and go on fantastic adventures
The deep jungles of the Congo
The misty mountain tops of the Himalayas
Riding horses across the Mongolian Steppe
John loved the stories, the relationships, the worlds he created with people he loved
John recognised that he wanted more of it
He dreamed of standing on stage and performing in the school play
Getting to play pretend with even more friends, costumes and sets
So much joy!
But when he auditioned for the play
Something happened
John had spent all week practicing his lines
And when his teacher asked him to stand on the stage to give his audition piece
John’s little body began to tremble
His throat went tight
His mouth became dry
His small tummy felt like it was turning inside out
John stepped up onto the big stage
He looked down at the sea of his classmates’ eyes
And he forgot what to do
Everything went silent
He tried to speak but he couldn’t remember a single line
He struggled to breathe
John hated what he was feeling
He wanted it to end
And when his classmates began to laugh and snicker
He turned and ran to the bathroom to hide
John was devastated
He loved playing pretend
But when he got the opportunity to do it for the school play
He felt like he couldn’t anymore
John became quiet at school
He stopped joining in at recess with his friends
And when his best friend asked him to join in
He replied
“Playing is stupid”
And came up with all kinds of excuses as to why he wouldn’t do it anymore
John was clearly hurt and trying to protect himself from feeling hurt again
Then
One day
A stuntman came to his school to put on a show
All the kids gathered to watch
John deliberately sat at the back of the crowd
Curious, but still in his shell
The stuntman began to perform incredible feats
Death defying acts
The daredevil tumbled down stairs unscathed
Threw a boomerang and caught it
He even set his hand on fire without getting burned
Extraordinary!
Then
For the stunt mans’ final act
He placed a plank between two of the schools’ buildings
A staggering 3 meters high!
The stunt man took a big breath
The drumroll on the boombox played
And then he walked across the plank
Not once
Not twice
But three times!
John watched in sheer awe
All the other kids screamed with applause
“Bravo!”
Then
The stuntman came down to where the children were standing with glee
And placed the plank on the ground
He asked all the children to walk across it one at a time
John was confused
He looked at the plank
Looked ahead
Took a few small & simple steps
And crossed the plank with ease
John was confused and looked up at the stuntman
The stuntman smiled
He kneeled down to John and said
“The plank is the same
You walked across it with ease
All I did was put it up higher
So it took your breath away
But the plank didn’t change
Your perception of it did”.
He was right
John recognised immediately
That’s the difference between playing pretend with his friends and being on the stage
There is none!
Only his perceptions
It’s the same thing he did every day
The same fun and simple play
All the other stuff...
The stage, the lights, the set, the crowd, the eyes, the costumes
That’s all an illusion
A distraction
Bingo!
John recognised it was his responsibility to notice when his imagination was running away with him
And to bring it back to what was within his control:
Having a playful and honest conversation with the person standing opposite him
John breathed with ease
He knew what to do next.
At the next recess break
John found his teacher standing in the playground
He walked up to her
Tugged on her dress
Looked up at her with his curious little glassy eyes
And said
“Miss,
I’d like to try again, please”
Hope this helps
X