I’m sitting here in the after-glow of successfully completing my first ever sky dive this weekend!
“Awesome”…”amazing” and “brilliant” were the words most my group of 13 used afterwards.
But all of us felt some element of fear beforehand.
Here are 4 lessons about breaking through that fear from this weekend’s sky dive and how they may apply to our careers and work lives too.
1. Don’t think too much
We booked the sky dive 6 months ago. Someone suggested the idea, we got a group together and in a short space of time booked the event.
The more you delay on a decision, the more paralysed you become with fear and indecision. So think less and act quickly. If you’re 70-80% sure about something, just do it.
2. Make a public declaration
The key to pushing through fear is to make the pain of “not acting” much more painful than the pain associated with the thing you fear. (Read that line sentence again).
By making a public declaration (“we’re sky diving on 9th April!”) the pain of not following through with that commitment becomes more painful than pushing through the fear. So, it’s a little trick you play on yourself to ensure you act.
What trick can you play on yourself?
3. Safety (and fun) in numbers
On Saturday, 12 other people were going through the very same experience and range of emotions as me. In fact, we spent much of the day joking and winding each other up – and so didn’t have too much time to get nervous.
Who else is going through the same experiences as you? Who can you share with and laugh with along the way?
4. Feel the fear and do it anyway
Jumping out of plane at 12,000 feet and free falling for 45 seconds is scary for anyone – regardless of who you are. But that fear only goes away once you jump. You’ve got to feel that fear – and do it anyway.
This applies to anything outside your comfort zone – accept the uncomfortable feeling and just do it anyway.
Once you do, you too will feel “awesome”, “amazing” and “brilliant”……