You first.

Back when I was a kid, somehow we would find our way to a swimming hole in May. Maybe just a little ahead of schedule. It was cold. That's cold with a capital brrr. We'd be standing on the end of the dock daring each other to be the first ones in. We knew a shock awaited, and we also knew a blast would be had by all. Yet there we stood knees slightly flexed in athletic anticipation of jumping while at the same time perhaps not quite close enough to the edge, and footing secure enough to defend against a surprise attack push. Always, it ended up with a compromise. "You first.", "no you go" "OK, wait, on three... One....two....thr.....sucker!! "

Sooner or later we are all in the water, the initial shiver calmed by play and good times never to be equaled in adult years. Worth the shock of the cold. Always worth the effort.

And so the games go into adult hood. Except we play them with ourselves. We know that good outcomes are to be paid for. They all take effort and good choices. And if we suffer that initial shock, if we take that plunge, the journey's almost always worth it. Yet we hesitate well beyond jumping time. We push off our health, love, finances, everything. So much time lost not splashing in the water.

Why are we like that? We know life will be better skinnier, stronger, with more cash in the wallet, with the right partner. Often times, when you break things down to the simplest elements the truth reveals itself. The bottom line is we don't believe in the payoff.

Let's say your life consists of wallowing in shit. Now you get skinnier, add some nice muscle tone, become financially healthy. But still your life consists of wallowing in shit. You're better but your life isn't.

I think for most people life is just something that happens to them. They feel they have little control over their environment. They may improve, but life's circumstances seem beyond their control. And so when diets present themselves, paying down debt, breaking up with the wrong person, or asking out the right person, what's the payoff. Maybe everything, but to many people I think the truth barely submerged in their subconscious is that nothing will change. The fear in starting is that there is only shock and no play time.

Yet, other people never stop playing. Their environment is their playground. They've dictated how they interact, and what benefits come back to them. They jumped in once, and never got out. And if they did it was only to run down the dock and jump in again.