A freezing wind pierced through my mask.
I was sitting at the top of a massive mountain, with a snowboard strapped to my feet and only a few hours of lessons under my belt. Looking down all I could see was a plummeting drop to the bottom.
And one emotion filled my whole body… fear.
My mind flashed back to the last time I was snowboarding… a broken wrist, tears streaming down my face, and endless thoughts of, “Why the hell am I doing this…”
Now I was back.
The human mind has a tendency called negative bias. It highlights the potential negative outcomes of a situation and skimps us on the potential positive impact. Why? Because it’s biasing for safety, comfort… and survival.
But do we want to just survive? Or live with courage?
Our mind makes obstacles bigger than they really are. It tells us to fear the unknown. To fear failure (and the pain and humiliation that comes with it).
But this is why most people die with regrets.
They spend their lives ruled by fear. They constantly think thoughts like…
- “What if I try something new and I suck?”
- “What if I start a business and it doesn’t work?”
- “What if I ride down this mountain and break my wrist… again”
So they stay stuck in a state of constant fear. They never adventure into the unknown. And at the end of their life, they wonder what it would have been like to take a real shot at creating a life they love.
The good news? It’s not too late for you.
Breaking The Boundary
“He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
I was still sitting on top of the mountain freezing my a** off (literally).
The bunny slopes weren’t bad, but a full mountain was a completely different animal.
Then a realization came to me...
“Was I going to spend my whole day sitting on top of this mountain… or was I going to do the thing I came here to do?”
With that thought, my mindset shifted.
I jumped up and went nose-first down the mountain. To my surprise… I was doing it. I was shredding down a monstrous mountain, covered with frozen water — with nothing more than a piece of wood strapped to my feet.
But my success didn’t last long.
I crashed. My body smashed into the unforgiving ground. When I finally came to a stop, I checked my wrist. Not broken — perfect. I got back up and kept going.
From that point on I was obsessed with snowboarding. An obstacle I was so scared to face had now become pure joy for me.
So what was different?
I had shattered the boundary I set on myself — the boundary of fear.
When you’re no longer ruled by fear, you become more open to new situations — the world isn’t terrifying anymore. your experiences are more full and you avoid regret.
Best of all?
You can ride down 8,600 ft mountains (literally or metaphorically).
Here’s how:
Do This to Overcome Fear (Forever)
“Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it … that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer a fear.” — Dale Carnegie
1) Rocky’s Rule of 3
I have a rule… I’ll try anything 3 times and if I still hate it after that, I’m done. But without trial and error, you don’t know what something is really like. If I had quit after my 1st terrible experience snowboarding, I would have missed out on hours of pure joy.
2) Death is Coming
We’re all going to die one day. The good news? You get to choose if you live with fear, or with courage. In 10,000 years, no one will remember you (or the stupid mistakes you made). Remind yourself of your limited opportunity when fear shows its ugly face.
3) The Worst Case Scenario
Most of the time, we give too much credit to the possibility of bad things happening. Even when they have a small probability of occurring. Then we let that tiny probability rule our decisions. Here’s the solution. Ask yourself: “What is the worst that could happen if I did this? What is the best that could happen?” — 9 out of 10 times, you’ll realize that the ‘bad’ isn’t that terrible.
Thanks for reading.
Stay curious my friend,
— Rocky "8,600 Ft" Ferony
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