In life we have many nerve-racking things that we must do, perform, or be a part of. Whether it is performing in front of a big audience or doing a job interview one on one. We get intimidated by these experiences. It is difficult to get them done, or at least start doing them.
One principle that helps me to do hard and scary things – is to “Just Jump In”.
Do not wait. Do not scare yourself away. Just jump in!
Some activities require some thinking done beforehand to make sure everything is safe. Do the calculation of the risk before you even get near the experience.
Everyone has been here: you stand at the edge of the cliff in front of a warm body of water. The fear is taken over you because your natural body mechanisms are trying to warn you about the potential danger. You stand there and your heartbeat is increasing. Your legs become like Jell-O and your brain is screaming “What are you doing up here?” But at the same time, you are wondering how dozens of other people are walking or running up to the edge of that same cliff and just jumping in? As if it is a small puddle of water in the asphalt on a rainy day. You ask yourself: “how are they doing it? No fear, no second thoughts, no adverse body reactions?”
These people prove to you that the activity is safe. You understand that the water is deep enough. You know you can swim as well as they do. And you know you have swum underwater many times before. But why are you standing there like someone dug a small whole in the ground then set your feet into the hole and put the dirt back?
Oh yes, the anticipation is killing you. Very often the anticipation is much more agonizing than the actual experience. And that anticipation might be what stops you from doing it altogether.
Now imagine a different scenario. Before you even climb the hill to jump off into the water you analyze the risk. You have already observed a bunch of people jumping off. You see how they do it. When they do it. And how fast they rise back up from the depth of the blue-green water. You know that it is safe. You know it is deep enough. And you know that you can swim.
All the mental prep work is done before you even get to the intimidating part. You climb the hill, walk up to the edge, and just jump in. No scary thoughts, no back-and-forth action. Yes, you just launched yourself into the void and start dropping down. You are scared, but you are also happy. You plunged into the depth of the water and quickly rose to the surface and into the warmth of the sun. It’s a glorious moment for you! You did it! You are done! You just jumped in!
For me, jumping off a moderately sized cliff usually isn’t that hard. But when I swim in icy lakes in the winter the fear sometimes takes over. But as with the fear of jumping off the cliff, I know the best way to tackle the feeling is to “just jump in”. I’ve done all my thinking about the activity in advance and calculated everything: I know it is safe. I know I have people that can help me if something goes wrong. And for me, I know that I’ve done it multiple times already.
So, I just jump in.
Imagine if I would wait for a long time before swimming in the cold icy water. Standing there in my swimsuit and trying to get myself into the right mind-set to do it.
I can guarantee you that in this case I would give up. My body would literally freeze and won’t be able to do it. The waiting would convert into fear and that will prevent me from doing it.
For me it is very important not to give up and to push my limits. That is why I always try to just jump in. This principle can be applied to any hard or scary thing you do. It requires courage. But remember the amount of courage you have increases with every scary thing you do.
We all have these moments of fear before we do something that is hard. My advice to you – just jump in and get it done. You won’t regret it!