Is there a point at which we are so sublime and confident, that we can put ourselves into new challenges and not worry, not feel any fear, not have one thought that we might look foolish or screw up or that our ideas might be rejected? Clients ask me this all the time. I doubt it.
The diver pictured holds the Guinness Book of World Records title for jumping over 35 feet into a kiddie pool holding 12 inches of water. That’s right–12 inches of water. His stage name is Professor Splash and I had an opportunity to talk with him a couple of years ago. I asked him about whether he was afraid when he did a jump. “I’m scared out of my mind,” he told me. “I just jump anyway.” You can watch him set a world record here.
I attended a workshop once with Debbie Ford, a multi-bestselling author who is physically stunning and super-poised. She asked the audience, “Do you think I am never scared? I am scared all the time. I just don’t let it stop me.”
Doubt and fear seem to be widespread human responses to challenging situations. After we’ve learned to see through our old beliefs, and we begin to develop new ones, those old thoughts lose their power to stop us. I need approval, I screwed up, the world may think my ideas are wacky—these thoughts may still pop up again, particularly when we have placed ourselves at risk by doing something new, something that challenges our comfort zone.
We feel the old fears, and hear the old thoughts and worries when we take risks. But we can recognize them for what they are—just thoughts. And from this place, we can keep going. The fear and worry lose their power over us when we don’t let them stop us. This is what it feels like to grow.
A study at Harvard Medical School