What are your fears? I have many, and one of them is heights. My friends and family have many funny stories about me at the top of lighthouses, on zip line platforms, on tall buildings, edge of cliffs, etc. The comfortable approach is to simply avoid the situation to avoid the fear. But how does that move me forward?
I am a runner, and several days a week I am in center city Philly, and I love to run around the city exploring and taking pictures (checkout my Instagram page and account). In my explorations, I often head for the Ben Franklin Bridge, which provides me with 3 excellent opportunities:
- From a fitness standpoint, it’s the only way to get on a hill in the city
- It’s an endless supply of inspiring pictures
- I can face my fear of heights (ugh)
The first time I ran the bridge, I did so simply because I thought it would be cool to run to Jersey and back, which it was. But I had no idea it was so darn HIGH UP!! The walkway is not attached to the road, and it sits kind of by itself on the side. You can get a look at from the picture at the top of the post. As I crossed it the first time, I was near the top of the crest and mindlessly just took a quick peak over the side….oh dear…the knees got weak, got the jelly feeling in my legs (those with this fear know exactly what I’m talking about). I immediately move as far to the inside as I could! I kept going, but for sure I stayed all the way to the inside.
I ran it several more times exactly the same way, but at some point I had this thought: “What am I afraid of? The bridge isn’t gonna fall…I’m not gonna throw myself over the edge”. So the next time, I purposely ran on the outside. I won’t say I looked down or fully soaked it in. I simply ran on the outside, as fast as I could, and I have lived to tell about it. In fact, every time I run that bridge, I do exactly the same thing, and I even force myself to look down and occasionally take some pictures like that. I no longer dread it. It still makes me a bit nervous, I still get that feeling a bit in my legs, but I do it, and it’s gotten better.
Your mind is a funny thing. The emotional half is screaming “NOOOO!!! You’re gonna DIE!!”, but the intellectual half knows you’re fine. To get over the fear, you must transfer the knowledge to the emotion…the conscious to the subconscious. This accomplished by ACTION! Do the things of which you are afraid. It’s healthy, it moves you forward, and it’s the jet fuel on your path to success. Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Do it this week…do it today. Pick something that makes you physically afraid (like heights), and do it. Stand on the edge of bridge, stand on the edge of your roof, whatever…just do it.
Here are a few of my personal favorite images that I’ve found so far while running that big scary bridge. I would’ve never had the opportunity to capture them if I had not just gone ahead and ran over it:
As always, please check out my About Me page to connect with me. I want to hear back from you! What are your fears!
Have an excellent day!
