Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Cliff Jumpin (Metaphoric)
Cliff Jumping is Awesome. It's exhilarating. It's scary as hell.
This isn't about Cliff Jumping per se. I've been applying the fear and the rush of cliff jumping to other challenges in life - especially to the fear of certain social situations.
It took me a year to build up the courage to jump my first 45' cliff. The physical part of it is easy. The challenge is overcoming the fear. It's all mental. The critical moment is not the moment of departure from the edge. It's a moment before when the mind commits to the jump - "I am going to do this". Then "I may not survive this. I am prepared to die. I am going to die". Then the feet leave the safety of the rock. There's a few seconds of free-fall then a stinging plunge as the body hits the surface of the water. Then comes the panic to reach the surface for a breath of precious air. A scream escapes as the head emerges from the water. "I'm alive. I survived this time". It's the most thrilling feeling in the world. It was all worth it.
The moment of commitment is exactly the same in situations of social fear.
This isn't about Cliff Jumping per se. I've been applying the fear and the rush of cliff jumping to other challenges in life - especially to the fear of certain social situations.
It took me a year to build up the courage to jump my first 45' cliff. The physical part of it is easy. The challenge is overcoming the fear. It's all mental. The critical moment is not the moment of departure from the edge. It's a moment before when the mind commits to the jump - "I am going to do this". Then "I may not survive this. I am prepared to die. I am going to die". Then the feet leave the safety of the rock. There's a few seconds of free-fall then a stinging plunge as the body hits the surface of the water. Then comes the panic to reach the surface for a breath of precious air. A scream escapes as the head emerges from the water. "I'm alive. I survived this time". It's the most thrilling feeling in the world. It was all worth it.
The moment of commitment is exactly the same in situations of social fear.
