One Apple A Day #915 - jump higher
Last Monday, I had two apparently disconnected conversations that, all of a sudden this morning, looks perfectly connected.
The first conversation was about a program on creativity that I co-designed. I was talking with Annalisa, my partner in this project, about optimism. As usual, it was one of our creative conversations in which we go with the flow. At some point, she told me about the "fleas in a jar experiment".
It is a quite simple but revealing experiment.
If you place some fleas in a glass jar, they immediately begin to jump out. However, if you place a glass lid over the top, when the fleas begin jumping, they hit the glass lid, falling back down into the jar. After a while and many hits, the fleas jump below the glass lid to not hit it. At that point, even you remove the glass lid, the fleas won't try anymore to jump higher and escape. They have been conditioned to the idea that their world is limited, so there is no point in trying to escape.
An external limitation has become an inner one.
Later in the day, while I was exchanging a few messages with one of my best friends, she wrote me a powerful statement.
"I have no intention of getting used to this kind of life."
She was obviously referring to this new reality in which we all are, made of social distance, remote working, virtual connections, non-contact and fear.
This morning, I realised that I'm becoming like those fleas.
My world is getting small, and the worst thing is that I'm getting used to it. I haven't visited a friend in a while. I can't remember the last time I went out for a walk in the woods. Most of my exchanges are happening through a screen. And it's not because of external rules or limitations. It's me.
I definitely need to jump higher.
I may bang my head a few times against this invisible lid, but at least I'll know these limits are not getting in.