NLP and the High Ropes Course - the 'Trapeze Jump'

Pegasus NLP Training

NLP for people who like to think for themselves...

Site updated 30 Jul 2010

The Trapeze Jump

(See Gallery Page for other High Ropes picture pages)

Getting ready to begin the Trapeze Jump evokes a great mix of feelings! And it's up to you which label you give the mix - is it terror, fun, excitement, or joyful anticipation? You decide. Just as you decide how to label any feelings in any moment in your life!

Even after 10 years I still consider the Trapeze Jump to be one of the more challenging High Ropes' activities on our NLP courses. You climb the pole using small wooden steps and as you near the top you discover that the pole wobbles quite a bit...

And there are many different styles of climbing... Some start off boldly only to graduate to the koala bear style (hugging the pole, dearly, with both arms) as they near the top and the wobbliness of the pole becomes a little more noticeable.

Do you continue or do you come down or do you launch off from whatever point you've reached - the question is always there and only you can choose.

Once at the top you have the next challenge - getting up on the pole with nothing to lean on.

Here there's no point in offering yourself the usual 'don't look down' advice. You have to look down to clamber unaided onto the tiny top of the pole! Although you can always choose to call a halt and climb down... It's up to you, once again..

All the while you know you've got lots of support - whether from those who have just done it and know what it's like or from those who are waiting their turn. The rapport that develops from sharing High Ropes' experiences really is quite special and enduring - it needs to be experienced to be believed.

Now comes the moment of truth. As you stand on your wobbly little 'platform' do you look down? Or do you enjoy the view over the tree-tops? Or do you stare fixedly at the trapeze out there in front of you? (You've likely selected how far out it is before you began your climb.)

Or are you so locked up in your thoughts that you notice little of what's going on around you? (Rather like the manner in which many of us mentally and emotionally handle moments of stress in everyday life!)

Whatever you are doing inside you do want to jump - at least part of you does! So do you just get on with it - or spend long minutes imagining missing the trapeze or mentally arguing with yourself? Or wondering what they are thinking of you way down there on the ground.

Again, it's a metaphor for how you handle the big events in your life - do you hang about wondering, doubting, under-mining yourself - or do you act?

The moment when you connect with the trapeze has to be experienced to be appreciated. All the self-doubt is erased. There is exhilaration, security, relief, a feeling of achievement and self belief, and a wondering 'why did I hang about doubting for so long?'

You've taken another step towards being more pro-active in your life - and you've learned a lot about how you handle life's challenges.

All of these connections will be further developed in later group reviews, right now...

...you're enjoying the wonderful sensation of being lowered to the ground after your achievement. And as you reach the ground after your first Trapeze Jump, your body pumping with adrenaline, the feeling is quite amazing... and never to be forgotten. And eventually, as the adrenaline subsides, the legs and hands become steadier.

People ask why do it? Why bother? 'You've come this far in your life without climbing trees the height of two-double decker busses - why start now?'. The answer is that it can be, simply put, life changing.