Do you know this jump program scene in The Matrix?
It’s when Morpheus first takes Neo onto the roof of a tall building and tells him to leap to the other building over there.
If you’ve seen the movie you of course know Neo looks at him like he’s nuts.
How can he do that Superman thing?
Leap from one gigantic building to another?
All Morpheus says to him is, “You have to let it all go, Neo…”
“Fear, doubt, disbelief.”
What do you dream?
We all have a dream, don’t we?
It might be a huge lofty dream.
Or simply be a more natural evolution from where you are today.
No matter what it is, you certainly have dreams of what is possible.
Yet, what does it take to actually bring your dreams to life?
Lots of things of course!
And this scene from The Matrix really hones in on one.
How much do you believe?
You most certainly know the power of belief.
Literally, what you believe governs EVERYTHING that you do.
If you don’t believe that anything is possible for you, as many people stuck in depression or learned helplessness, believe…
Then of course it’s very hard to even do anything!
Yet, even if you believe just a little…
You can typically get yourself to at least give something a try, right?
But how much will you try?
How much do you need to believe to give it a good ole’ college try?
Can you even succeed this way?
How much do you try?
See, in the jump program scene Neo believes enough to try.
After watching Morpheus effortlessly leap across to the other building Neo KNOWS it’s possible…
For Morpheus, that is!
But he doesn’t yet believe it’s possible for him.
He “HOPES.”
He’s rubbing his hands together telling himself “free your mind.”
Getting a running start he’s committed.
But he doesn’t REALLY believe he can successfully make the leap.
That’s a lesson in this scene.
Why he falls and lands hard on the road way down below.
Believing VS. KNOWING
Training him to fight in the dojo before this, Morpheus is teaching Neo the laws of The Matrix.
He’s pointing out to him that in this simulated reality you can do things that are perceived impossible in the physical world.
“Free Your Mind” Morpheus tells him.
By this he means to free yourself of those limiting beliefs that hold you back.
What Morpheus is conveying to Neo is that the things he used to believe were impossible govern what is now possible for him.
So if you believe that you can’t say move fast enough…
Well, then you can’t.
And, even if you do believe it…
That’s NOT enough either.
Because there’s a difference between what you believe and what you KNOW.
KNOW you can
Having watched Morpheus leap, believing it is possible, Neo is willing to “TRY.”
But, it’s not enough. He falls to the ground.
To mix our movie metaphors, he learns what Yoda instructs to Luke in Star Wars—
“Do. Or do not. There is no try.”
See, the point here is that “TRY” is often a good thing, right?
It’s better than NOT trying.
But too the word “try” implies failure, doesn’t it?
It’s the difference between you right now “trying” to stand up.
When, assuming you are able bodied, that’s just something you do, isn’t it?
For the same reason in the dojo, Morpheus says to Neo—
“You’re faster than this. Don’t think you are, KNOW you are.”
Again, he’s pointing out the difference between believing and KNOWING.
How much do you give?
See, and where Neo’s face hits the road…
Is also where the rubber hits the road for you chasing your dreams.
In the end, it’s NOT about what you believe or know, is it?
BUT, what that belief or knowing leads you to do!
See, when Morpheus leapt to the building over there…
It required ZERO effort.
He wasn’t psyching himself up.
Telling himself it was possible.
Unlike Neo he didn’t even take a running start.
Just a few small steps before taking a massive leap way up in the sky and landing on the building over there.
He KNEW.
So he just did!
Whereas Neo didn’t know.
So, lacking conviction, he merely TRIED.
What do you believe or know?
Consider your dreams now.
Maybe you’ll just think of one dream or one goal that you have in mind.
What do you believe is possible for you?
Do you believe this enough that you are making it happen?
Or are you more like hoping that somehow it might happen?
Now, what about if you believed more?
How might you be thinking and feeling differently?
What actions might you be taking?
And now, ask yourself, if you KNEW it was possible.
I mean REALLY KNOW, as strong as you do that you can just stand up and walk.
Then, how would you be thinking and feeling differently?
What would you be doing differently?
A walk in the sky
The point I’m “TRYING” to convey here is that…
What you believe governs what you are willing to do in chasing your dreams.
But, there’s something much deeper too.
It’s that your level of belief or knowing determines WHAT you will actually do.
And HOW vigorously you will do it.
If you ONLY believe, will you really play full out?
Said differently—ONLY believing, how much conviction is backing your actions?
Relative to if you REALLY KNOW.
Meaning, just like a walk in the park…
How would you go after your dreams differently if you KNOW with certainty you’ll make them come true?