Have you ever made yourself sick fretting about something? Did the anticipation almost make you blow chunks?
Is The Reward Worth The Risk?
A few weeks ago I found myself suspended 180 feet above the ground. I was just hanging there from two, what appeared to be very small cables, with my daughter on one side of me and her friend on the other. The crazy thing is I put myself in this position on purpose and I paid good, hard earned, cold cash to do so.
Why?
Because I wanted the adrenaline rush that comes from free falling 180 feet. I knew it would be an adrenalin pumping ride, but initially when my daughter asked me if I would do the rip-cord with her and her friend, I didn’t know if I had the guts to do it. In my younger days I wouldn’t have thought twice about it. If I could do something that involved speed or that would get my adrenaline pumping, I was ‘all in.’ One thing that settled my nerves a little was that the safety record for the rip-cord was 100%… no accidents had ever happened.
Focus On The Prize
Before I knew it our time had arrived. We were standing in the prep area getting fitted for our harnesses they attach the cable to. My nerves had calmed down and I was feeling pretty excited. But ever since we set our time to ‘fly,’ approximately 2 hours previous to this, my stomach was in (small)knots. Simply stated, I was just unsure about this whole adventure.
But I wanted to fly.
After we were fitted they took us out to the lift, hooked us up, and it was up… up… and away. In a matter of about 30 seconds we were hanging 180 feet above the ground waiting for the command to ‘pull the cord.’ And that’s when the fun started.
As soon as we pulled it we were diving towards the earth at more than 65 mph and the adrenaline was pumping. It’s a feeling you just can’t explain to the people that are standing there watching you fly by them smiling from ear to ear and letting out screams of fear and excitement.
Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
As you can imagine, there are more people watching than flying. I know not everyone is a thrill seeker, but the sad thing is that’s true with about everything in life.
I bet that most people you know aren’t living the life of their dreams. What’s even more sad is most of those people have forgotten what their dreams were. And if you challenge them to do something outside their ‘comfort zone’ they want nothing to do with it.
Life’s An Adventure
If you really want to experience life you’re going to have to push yourself. You’re going to have to ‘go for it.’ Being an observer and standing on the sidelines is never as fun or rewarding as ‘getting in the game.’
Never.
To live a fulfilling life you’re going to have to do the uncomfortable sometimes. You’re going to have to take some risks. But that’s where the thrill, the reward comes from. It happens even if you don’t succeed because you can look back and say “at least I tried.”
When I was thinking about flying on the rip cord I thought it was crazy. Other people thought I was crazy. Some people still think it was crazy. But guess what, I’m going down to Florida, and when I’m there I’m going to fly from a 300 foot rip cord.
So think about something you’ve been wanting to do, or try, or achieve… and forget about all the fear. Focus on the reward and ‘pull the cord.’ Either way, it’ll be a helluva ride.
Dana