Instructor Mike was very, very patient. I was all harnessed up, but hanging on to the rope for dear life and my feet refused to leave the rock at the edge of the cliff. It wasn't the first time Mike had talked someone over the edge and finally he persuaded me to kick off into space. There I was abseiling down the cliff - and it was fun! I reached the bottom all in one piece and climbed eagerly back to the top so I could do it again!
How often have you put something off for ages only to find when you finally did it you felt much better for doing it and wondered why you hadn't done it before?
However, the fact of the matter is, fear does not go away permanently as long as you continue to grow. When you've mastered something and the fear has gone away there'll be something else you want to accomplish and the fear will be present again as you start to meet a new challenge. The only way to feel better is to go out and do it. We all feel fear when we're on unfamiliar territory and if we want to grow and be our best then fear will be a part of our lives.
Last year I was facing my fourth walk across hot coals. You'd think I wouldn't be scared by the fourth time but I was more scared than the first time! I'd seen people get burned last time I did it and got a hot spot myself. It was windy and the embers glowed red in the dark as I made excuses to myself as to why I shouldn't do it this time round. However I realised it was yet another level of fear to be faced and I had the choice to overcome it or let it run me. So I chose to walk over the coals and I have to say the elation and sense of achievement was far greater than when I walked the first time!
What are you putting off - changing career, taking your business to the next level, confronting your boss, asking for a raise in salary, leaving a relationship, asking someone for a date, making a sales call, going for an audition, pursuing your dreams? You have a choice - you can live with the underlying fear of feeling helpless when you don't take action or you can push through the fear and continually gain the self-esteem and self-confidence that comes with doing that.
Breathing deeply and slowly is relaxing and releases stress. At the same time you can breathe in what you want and breathe out what you don't want. So breathe out the fear, breathe in courage and, as Nike admonishes us "Just Do It". Decide on one thing you've been putting off and take action to do it - and benefit both from the relief of having done it and the feeling of accomplishment that goes with it. Then do the next one!