“Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity. Do not misunderstand me danger is very real but fear is a choice.”
Will Smith
For as long as I can remember I have been afraid of heights.
I remember sitting in the back seat of my dads silver zephyr as we drove in the mountains.
Racing past sparkling white waterfalls we snaking our way thru the lush deep valleys and back up the steep rocky inclines.
My mother in the front seat quietly clutching the Arm rest between her and my dad.
panicked.
I vaguely remember her taking off her seatbelt and slipping down to sit on the floor when we were delayed on the way down a steep hill for construction our tent trailer behind us.
Brakes smoking in protest while we waited.
We could have been there five minutes or longer who knows but the impression stuck.
That fear rubbed off on me but manifests itself sometimes in strange ways.
I’m not a big fan of stairs or glass covered railings.
Escalators and elevators either.
I hate balcony seats to any event if it’s not right on the isle and away from the front row.
Yet I love to fly.
I have no issues with roller coasters unless one of my small children are sitting beside me then I am clutching them for dear life willing the mechanical straps to be effective.
They know I’m fearful and thankfully it hasn’t seemed to rub off on them.
I’m not sure if it’s the height that bothers me or the fear of falling from that height that’s the issue but I decided that this year on my birthday I was going to work on concurring that fear.
I wanted to do something that would allow me to safely face that fear so we went rock climbing.
Here are a few pictures from my first climb.
You want me to climb THAT?
Almost there….. (Heart racing and shaky knees)
Exhaustion! Pure exhaustion…but I made it to the top and did it over and over again just for the fun of it.
I’m in the middle with two of my closest girl friends who were more than thrilled to share this with me.
I’m sure it will probably take me a little longer to get over this but one small baby step at a time!
Have you ever faced your fears?
What are you afraid of?
Did you ever get over it?
Way to go!!! I've never tried that before!
Old age! Lol! I respect life now more than I did as a teen. 🙂
Roflmao!! I think I should have had more coffee before I read that!
I totally 100% agree with you!
I wasn't so sure either to be totally honest with you but I am so glad I went!
What happened to turn your love to fear?
:0) Thanks Liz!!
It's awful isn't it! I have found it can be so embarrassing sometimes so I'm working on getting over it once and for all!
Lol! As soon as we hooked up my friend looked at me and politely said “get up that wall!”
I'm glad they were there with me.
And I'm glad my husband was there to witness me a) not having a meltdown and b) had his camera ready to get photographic proof!
I think this is more generational as my mom remembers my grandmother being afraid of heights.
I do not want to share this family trait with my kids!
I'm saddened to think how much I may have missed out on because I wouldn't “look over the edge” or ” climbed up that flight of stairs”.
We had so much fun and I can not wait to go climbing again sometime soon!
Have you ever faced your fears? No… and I never want too..
What are you afraid of? My biggest fear is something happening to one of my kids.. (this would have to happen for me to face my fear)
Did you ever get over it? No and Never will…
Wow great for you! so inspring!
Good for you! Working through your fears is such a hard thing to do and you have worked through one. It will make all of the other fears seem small!
Fear is such a strange paralyzer, isn't it? I think most would agree that taking a small step directly into it is exactly the way to start pummeling fear down. Heading toward the fear zaps a lot of its power. I'm impressed by your climb!!
Awesome job. Confronting our fears can be so difficult but is really worth it in the end.
I'm afraid of heights too! It's great to do something like this to conquer your fears.
Way to go! If I am not strapped into something, I have a hard time with heights!
Wall climbing is so much fun, glad you faced your fear and made it to the top and back several times.
I love this post… and great job! I am afraid of heights, but I've gone sky diving and rock wall climbing. Although with the rock wall, I had a HARD time letting go and falling down.
I have always wanted to go rock climbing. I guess I should conquer my fear of bugs now!
Congrats! Feels good to conquer it, doesn't it? Now, if I could only take my own advice!
You are braver than me!
I have a fear of dolls. I haven't faced it yet and my daughter actually doesn't care to play with them, thank God.
if i'm scared to face my fears does that mean i have to not be afraid to be afraid? i'm a big chicken
I used to love roller coasters and now I am terrified of them.
I am not sure if I would be able to do this myself, but I'm glad you are conquering your fear!
Bravo and a standing ovation for you. That is so, so brave!
Good for you to take steps to conquer your fears. I am terrified of heights if I get near the edge of really tall places.
Good For YOU! (Nice to have good friends to support you)
That is awesome!! I am terrified of heights!
Oh My! I can see where your fear started from! Looks like fun! CONGRATS!