I love trying new things.
OK, to be truthful trying new things scares me much of the time. It was far worse when I was younger, though. Twenty year olds are supposed to be fearless – not me!
I started to challenge myself at some point and turn that automatic “no”into a “yes”, or at least a positive maybe.
At some point, despite a debilitating fear of heights, I decided I wanted to skydive. I’d never wanted to skydive before and have no idea what put it on my list.
There’s a long story involved in the road to doing it, but I won’t go into that here (you may be able to find it in my earliest blogs).
Anyway, somehow my experienced skydiving friend got me to agree to static line jump – which means you jump by yourself instead of tethered to an experienced skydiver. The tether pulls your chute.
At first I told him “Absolutely not. Never.”
Within minutes of getting off the phone call where he proposed this, I decided I was going to be maximum scared either way, so why not do it?
I mostly doubted myself until I did it. (My instructor, however, said she wouldn’t let me do it if she had doubts about me.) There had to be a kernel of belief in me, though, since I proceeded forward. Pride often drives our actions.
As I was jumping, I was quite calm. Way calmer than during training. It was very cool to be floating down to earth.
When I finished I was jubilant. It was a blast. What if I had missed that great experience and never realized I could do it? Instead I tried – and succeeded – and learned I could do something I never thought possible.
Invest in those things you love. I’m investing in trying new things.
“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” – Vincent van Gogh
In the Box, Out of the Box 