The Pleasure Of Doing It Scared

The Pleasure Of Doing It Scared

I sat on top of the rock for nearly ten minutes, pretending I was just enjoying the view. Below me, forty feet down, shimmered the clear Havasu waters and the anchored boat carrying my sunbathing family and friends.

I had been working my way up to jumping from that height. There were two lower ledges I had already taken on to practice safely jumping straight as a pencil.

People have literally died jumping from this ledge, usually after too much alcohol or getting overly confident with their aerobatics. My hesitation was entirely justifiable. That was until my friend shouted:

“Kalish! What are you waiting for?! You have more balls than most men I know!” That was saying a lot because we knew some incredibly daring men.

That was it—he called out my ego. I knew I could make the jump, the technique was super simple, but it was still unknown territory. Fear was telling me I wasn’t ready. It quietly spoke in my ear, “There would be nothing wrong with climbing back down.”

But that’s not my modus operandi.

I stood up. I got ready. And—somehow—launched myself into the open space to fall for what felt like minutes.

The water caught me and up I swam. Next thing I knew I was back up at the top of the rock making the leap again with hardly a second thought.

My confidence had soared along with me as I continued to prove my self-doubt wrong.

This is what psychologists would call “Exposure Therapy”, it’s the act of doing something before you’re ready, especially the things that scare you. It’s in the act itself that you build instant confidence. Even when water shot up my nose, or when I hit the surface at a sting-inducing angle, I learned how to improve

Sitting with this story is a good reminder that as we step outside our comfort zone, the pleasure lies on the other side of fear. We crave the familiar, but that is what keeps us sitting on the ledge or backing down entirely.

So ask yourself not just what might be holding you back from your goals, but are your goals big enough to scare you a little? Safe ledges might keep you comfortable, but they’ll never give you the biggest result. Trust me on this—and more importantly, trust yourself.