Last Updated on December 1, 2021 by Nadim Alamuddin
Have you ever wanted to do something so bad but were overcome by fear of going for it? Have you ever regretted not trying and lived your life wondering, what if? In business, have you ever wanted to do something but were afraid…of failure, of what your friends & family would think, of… And what about outside business? Have you ever wanted to go up in a balloon, go parasailing or skydiving? This blog post is all about conquering your fears.
I certainly have. I have had a few opportunities in life where I wished I had more guts to try them and now regret I never did. For example, a couple of years ago, my wife wanted to give me a birthday present in the form of a Skydiving jump! I turned around and asked her if she had increased our life insurance policy! Joking aside, I told her I am a dad and have responsibilities… which, of course were excuses for being afraid to try.
A few years ago, I could have gone parasailing in Cyprus. Yet, again, fear gripped me and I invented all kinds of excuses not to do it. Still, I am hopeful these opportunities will come around once again because this time I may just do them.
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Conquering My Fears In…Morocco?
Last year, we went up to a rocky mountain site just outside Marrakech, Morocco. The place is called Terres d’Amanar, which is an activities-filled resort of sorts offering horseback riding, archery, zip lining, obstacle courses in the trees, walking fearsome bridges, etc. We had no idea what to expect from the place.
As we arrived & parked, we came across a tent where people registered. Beyond the tent, overlooking a deep ravine, stood some cables extending far in the distance to the other side of the mountain. Suddenly, we heard a faint grinding sound that was getting louder and louder until we saw someone dangling from the zip line on their way over to a platform just below where we were standing. We looked at one another, screaming “No way!” One of my colleagues was saying “I’m a ground person…. nothing is gonna take me off the ground!”
We then looked further to our right to see an impossible sight – a bridge extending over the deep cavity between the two rocky mountains, but with missing wooden planks! The wire was bare in sections of the bridge, and we thought, nope, this bridge is probably not being used…Boy, were we wrong!! Upon further inquiry, we found out that there were two main activities for zip lining: One that was fear oriented, and one which was fitness & strength oriented.
And The Adventure Begins…
With our tails between our legs, we proceeded to the forest to explore the fitness-strength oriented activities. There were obstacle courses of different levels, catering to all ages and experiences. Of course, being the machos that we believed we were, we opted for the two most difficult courses. But, as we looked closer at the activities, we all agreed we may get bored after having completed 3 or 4, even with the increasing difficulty, and each course had at least 15 activities. So, guess what? Despite the inner fear gripping some of us, we finally agreed to go for the fear-based course! Conquer my fear…yeah, right!
When we got our tickets, we were “equipped” with the fail-safe gear so our adventure can begin. We gathered with our “fearsome” mates in the debriefing area, I for one barely was listening to the instructions the trainer was giving us, silently wondering what I got myself into. All I kept concentrating on where the challenges that we had in front of us – “if you don’t reach the other side, you need to put your hand on the cable and turn around…”
Turn around??? What is he talking about? We soon found out – it turns out that if you don’t have enough momentum on the zip line, you may not reach the destination, in which case, you should put your gloved hands on the zip line (cable) and turn yourself around, to be able to “pull” yourself along the cable to the other side! This was a renewed fear for me, but I wasn’t about to chicken out…How Do I Conquer My Fear?
This Is It…The Ultimate Test
We finished the debrief and we lined up to the first station: the wonderfully treacherous-looking bridge…This is it…maybe Skydiving wasn’t a bad idea after all! I kept saying to myself “You can do it…take it easy…don’t look down.” Yay, sound advice, except the steps on the bridge have gaps between them, so you have to look down!!! And so I went, the second among my friends, following the only girl with us, posing for a picture, trying to look brave…
Bridge Over Troubled…Chasm?
When I took the first couple of steps, I thought “Is that it?” and then one of my friends stepped on the bridge behind me which shook the whole bridge in directions I never thought possible. I felt the cables pressing into my sides, my restraints keeping me aligned, my feet shaking on wooden planks that look too frail to hold my weight. Keep moving…one step at a time…When you’re on land, you look to the bridge and say…it’s quite a short bridge. Not when you walk it – it felt it lasted a lifetime!! But, it was thrilling at the same time. I felt exhilarated, free, crazy, a fool, ha! And then, as quickly as I started, I had arrived to the other side…I DID IT!!
Now that we had arrived, we proceeded to the next station: the first zip line. It looked pretty tame, in the dense forest, not too high to scare us. Maybe it is on purpose so we can warm up to the big one. We watched as the instructor took on the first “victim”. She attached her two restraints to the cable, put her hands over the pulley, stretched her body parallel to the cable with her head hanging away from it. The instructor then released her and all we could hear were her piercing screams over the woods coupled with the whining & grinding of the pulley against the cable as it carried her to the other side.
Zipping Through…Really?
I came next. Attached my restraints. Check. Clicked pulley in place. Check. Put left hand over pulley, then right hand over left hand. Check. Hung body away from cable in a parallel position. Check. Ready? Noooo….Yaaaahoooo! And off I went, cool wind on my face, looking everywhere but down, feeling absolutely free as a bird. Less than 30 seconds later, I was arriving at the other side. The platform was coming up quickly and hop, I reached the stopper and the instructor caught & helped me land in one piece. Wow!! What a feeling that was! Much easier than I thought. Definitely a lot easier than the bridge! Faster too.
Phew, That Was A Thrill! Now, What?
And so, we proceeded through another zip line, until we reached the big zip line, the one that arrives next to the registration tent. This was the biggie. I was praying that, whatever I do, I reach the other side without having to manually turn around and walk myself over using my hands! Here was the result!
Well, we did the last zip line, now what? We learnt there was an optional bridge we can take on, which turned out to be the one with the missing planks. Of course, by then, we felt we could take on the world! What’s another challenge? So, we all took it.
Let me tell you…not all bridges are created equal! This one was hellish…someone was not in his/her right mind when he/she built it. To start off, there are no planks for a good 10 m (33 feet). We had to walk on the cable in the middle. I could only remember the movie “The Walk” and what that Frenchman was feeling! Insane! And I had restraints and gear! He had nothing and he walked the cable across the New York Twin Towers. Insane!
As if the missing planks were not enough excitement, in came planks on the right side of the bridge, and then another on the left side. So, if you walk on either, the bridge will tilt to that side. Quite a feeling, especially when you don’t expect it – someone else walks on the side and the bridge suddenly tilts! Talk about overcoming your fears!
I’ve Done It! Your Turn…
Needless to say, this was an exciting experience, one that made feel free and able to do anything I put my mind to!
I have conquered some of my fears. When will you conquer yours?
A very popular fear in business is the fear of looking for a new opportunity, be it a new job, a new business venture or anything that involves risk. Human nature always tries to protect us and keeps us in our comfort zone. Well, in my opinion, staying in our comfort zone prevents us from growing. Here’s a challenge for you… read this post and set up a blog for yourself. Think you can do that?
Here’s another couple of posts on overcoming your challenges:
- Overcome Your Fear Of Change Using 5 Quick Fixes
- Top 5 Strategies To Overcome The Feeling Of Overwhelm
- Setting The Right Goals Is The Secret To Success
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