“If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet.” ~Niels Bohr

Often when someone says they made a “quantum leap,” what they mean is they made a giant change, a massive shift. Giant changes and massive shifts are fine but they are not quantum leaps.

Quantum leaps are small, not big. And when I say small I mean on the atomic level small.

What makes them quantum is that they instantly jump a gap with no path, and no time is expended at all. In short, they transcend time and space. A quantum physicist (someone who studies the universe at the atomic or subatomic level) could go into more detail about this.

Ok, am I just being a petulant wordie here? Yes…I mean NO! This is important. You could jump the Grand Canyon and that would be quite the feat. But it is entirely pedestrian. On the other side of the canyon you will still be the same. You just changed locations and some time passed.

A quantum leap isn’t just a change, it’s a transformation. It’s instantaneous. It’s extraphysical.

The things that will make all the difference in your life will not be the changes, not even the huge changes. It’s the transformations that will count. So what’s the difference between a change and transformation?

A change is an alteration. A changed thing is still the same thing. But a transformation is a conversion. A transformed thing is now a new thing. When you apply this to a person you can see the difference. “Bob changed jobs.” Bob is still Bob. “Bob transformed his body.” Bob is no longer a couch potato, he is now an athlete.

If you go through life thinking of your changes as quantum leaps, you will not just be mislabeling them. You will perhaps be lulling yourself into thinking that these changes are transforming your life. But they are not. Such a focus may dull you from seeing the possibilities for true transformation.

“You’re doing quantum leaps all wrong.” click to tweet

Here’s a example of a quantum leap I made. I had worked very hard to become a reasonable man. Reason really mattered to me. It was logical, orderly, and supportable, and that sang to me. But it was also restrictive, controlling, and limiting. My quantum leap happened when I recognized that reason was not the endpoint of all understanding. I found myself in a new place where reason, while still applicable and useful, was not the only paradigm to explain my experiences.

So no more phony quantum leaps for you. Don’t settle for anything less than the real deal. As I like to say, words matter. The clearer we get and the clearer we are with others, the greater the possibilities.

What quantum leaps have you experienced? Tell us about them by commenting below.

Photo credit: Vishal Patel