Some readers may have had the experience of doing something and being told, “You’re for the high jump!”
Generally, such news would not be entirely welcomed, not because we do not like jumping but because the implication of the statement is that we are in trouble, that we are going to be punished for something that we have done wrong.
It is interesting that the expression stems not from any athletic event but from a military perspective whereby someone found to have done something seriously wrong would be liable to execution, at that time by hanging – the high jump was not in jumping up high but being dropped low from a height.
There is a military hint in another expression speaking of jumping, for when an officer shouts to a soldier, “Jump” there is the expectation that the soldier’s only response would be “How high?”
This implies unquestioning obedience on behalf of the soldier, complete loyalty – there are to be no excuses, only clarification! We can well imagine too that the height to which the soldier would be required to jump was not low but in fact high.
It is interesting to note that the world record for the men’s High Jump has remained the same since 1993 when Javier Sotomayor cleared 2.45 metres (when he himself is only 1.93 metres).
That is some height to jump – and no-one has jumped higher in the last thirty-two years! The first recorded world record for men’s High Jump was set in 1827 at a height of 1.57 metres, which (if we are honest) not many of us could jump even now.
In almost two hundred years, the world record has increased by just under one metre. One man, Valeriy Brunel has broken the world record six times (between 1961 and 1963), though each time by one centimetre at a time! Higher and higher!
- You are for the high jump
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How the High Jump world records have been improved is also interesting. Certainly, having a mat to land on (instead of the hard ground initially and then later sand) changed things but the techniques changed over the years significantly.
To begin with, athletes ran straight at the bar and effectively hurdled it. Later, advances were made when jumpers used the ‘Scissor’ technique, approaching from the side.
Further increases were made when athletes adopted the ‘Western Roll’ approach, followed later by the ‘Straddle’ jump and most recently (though this was first done over sixty years ago at the 1968 Olympics) by the ‘Fosbury Flop’. The aim, year after year, is to go higher.
The ’Fosbury Flop’ has turned out to be anything but a flop; it has enabled people to jump higher.
We might well therefore pick up from that the vital lesson that the way to improve, in anything in life, is by flopping, by failing, by trying again.
In that sense the High Jump is a magnificent event for us to progress in life.
We achieve nothing simply by running up and clearing the same (low) height.
In other words, we need, as another expression says, to get out of our comfort zone.
Many will question why we need to do that. What is wrong with being comfortable? Indeed, it is a strong value to care and comfort those who may be under stress.
We are all looking for ways to make our life more comfortable.
A powerful message from the Old Testament is “Comfort, comfort My people,’ says your God”.
So, why should we have to get out of our comfort zone? ‘Comfort’ after all can breed confidence (we can jump that height well, every time) yet it may also breed casualness or complacency (we do not even have to think about it but just go through the motions).
Moving out of our comfort zone stretches us; it pushes us to do more and more. It enables us to improve. If we do not try to jump higher, we will simply jump at the same height.
Progress is what is expected and desired for all of us. We need to be in trouble, to challenge ourselves. We need to go through that experience of doubting if we can do something, just as high jumpers sometimes run up to the bar and at the last moment pull out as they lose confidence.
The beauty is that they still have another chance to clear the bar, as we have another chance to improve.
The bottom line is that we need to constantly aim higher, not to rest on our laurels or previous achievements.
There is no excitement, no adrenaline rush, no improvement if we simply stick at a level at which we can succeed.
Yes, we need to be for the high jump, to push our youngsters to get out of their comfort zone and reach higher, try new challenges. Jump! How high? Higher still!
