My daughter came home from school this week excited to share the story of Daedalus and Icarus.    For those not up to speed on their Greek Mythology, Daedalus was the brilliant inventor of the original Labyrinth on the island of Crete.  King Minos was so protective of the secrets that lay within, he jailed Daedalus and his son, Icarus, and refused them any contact with the outside world. Undaunted, Daedalus cleverly constructed wings made out of bird feathers and wax.   On the day of the ingenious escape, Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, as the heat could melt the wax and ruin the delicate wings.  It was better to maintain an even, steady course.  But early in their journey, Icarus became excited and soared toward the heavens, dangerously close to the sun’s powerful rays.  The intense heat destroyed his wings and sent Icarus plunging to the despair of the seething ocean below.

The classic fall of Icarus imparts a powerful lesson in humility, and the wisdom of living within your limits. But, while I applaud the message and the subtext (“Hey kids, if you don’t listen to your father, bad things will happen!”), I am not sure this lesson applies to modern resiliency.  If we don’t test the boundaries in our work and personal lives, how will we ever know how high we can fly?

The Sky is the Limit

In our work lives, soaring at a comfortable altitude can prolong our careers.  But are we maximizing our potential?  Or are we heading down a runway of complacency?  In our sales careers, are we satisfied with meeting our quota or do we get creative and blow our numbers away?  Do we have surface relationships with our clients or do we dig deep for intimate knowledge of their needs?  As teachers, do we follow the same routine each year or do we adjust our methods to maximize the personalities in this particular class?  As business owners and leaders, are we looking to get a comfortable payout or are we striving to transform lives?  In order to impact our little corner of the world, sometimes we have to push past our own comfortable routines and climb into dangerous territory.  How else can we know how high we can soar?  As long as it not illegal or immoral, why not strive for more?  Why not head towards the sun?

Step Out of the Comfort Zone

The same is true in our personal lives.  At some point, we can coast into a comfortable lifestyle.  There is nothing wrong with stability and staying above the drama.  But do we stifle our own opinions to avoid damaging a relationship?  Do we shy away from new connections and hold tight to our familiar friendships?  Do we maintain the status quo at the expense of enormous upside?  It’s okay to voice our beliefs even if it means creating friction.  We cannot constantly push down our true feelings.  It’s okay to branch out and meet new people.  Can we really have too many friends?.  It’s okay to introduce risk if it could translate to infinite security for our family.  Doesn’t everything worthwhile involve some sort of struggle?

Our Plunges Are Not Fatal

But what happens when we soar too close to the sun and get burned?  We lose a major client.  Our business dips into the red.  We fail a major test.  We overstep our boundaries and damage a relationship.  We lose our financial security.  In these moments, we empathize with Icarus as we plunge to the icy waters below.  But we cannot allow this fall to be fatal.  Instead of accepting our fate, we must summon the strength to fly once again.  If we have given maximum effort in the past, we will be conditioned for the fight. If we have lived outside our comfort zone and pushed our limits, we can once again tap into that mindset.  We will be motivated to emerge from the cold water.  No failure is permanent.  No setback defines our lives.

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. –Thomas A. Edison

Our lives should be spent in constant pursuit of warm sunshine.  Perhaps it is our career.  Perhaps it is our family.  Perhaps both.  Whatever our passion, there is no upside in playing small.  We are not here to merely exist and coast.  We are not here to let the winds push us around.  We need to dictate the trajectory of our lives.  We need to actively pursue our potential.   There is always a risk in pushing past our perceived limits.  There will be regret and heartache and pain.  But we will recover.  We are resilient.  And by striving to soar as high as possible, we will once again feel the sunshine on our face and the wind at our backs.

Until next week, keep smiling!