In The Dark Knight Rises, a villain defeats Batman and locks him up inside an ancient prison known as the Pit. The Pit bears resemblance to an extremely large well, and all prisoners are free to climb out of the Pit to escape. 

The only thing standing in the way is a particularly large gap between two ledges near the surface of the Pit. In order to cross the gap, a prisoner would need to leap—but if they don’t leap far enough, they fall to their death.

Many prisoners attempt this leap, often with a rope acting as a safety harness, so if they fall they don’t die. But nobody succeeds. Batman is no exception, failing to climb out of the Pit constantly.

One day, he finds out that there has only been one person who has ever escaped—a child, who made the leap without a rope acting as a safety harness. Batman discovers that the fear of leaping without a rope—and the potential of falling to his death—would produce the adrenaline he needs to successfully make the leap. There would be no possibility of success without taking on the ultimate risk.

Sometimes, you need to increase the stakes in order to make sure you follow through. The consequences may not need to be life or death—only serious enough to give you a sense of commitment and urgency. You’ll also free up more focus from actually letting go of the other options. It’s the same energy of the military leader—Alexander the Great, Hernán Cortés—who burned all of his army’s boats so they had no way of returning home other than winning the battle in front of them.

Use this energy sparingly. You’ll know when you need it—and when you don’t. Sometimes, scaffolding may be the better option. Listen to and trust yourself.

Inspired by Stephen Flanders.