I’ve always had a fear of heights. Even when I’m on the ground, looking up at heights, I sometimes get vertigo. But unlike most people who suffer from this very common anxiety, I have been determined to overcome it. I want to ride my first roller coaster and I want to sky-dive before I die. So when I had a chance to bungee jump in South Korea last summer, I jumped on the opportunity to jump off a bridge.But I didn’t show up unprepared. I had a game-plan mapped out and I don’t think I could’ve jumped without it. Here’s how you can prepare yourself like I did:
1) Have a Touchstone
Before you get up there and your fear starts controlling your brain -- and body -- you need some sort of touchstone based in reality. Long before I got to that bridge, I knew I was going to be safe. I believed it more than I believed anything else. I told myself, bungee jumping is very safe: the harness is safe, the staff are experts, and people bungee jump all the time. Like the saying goes, the only thing to fear is fear itself. Nothing bad was going to happen to me – I just needed to jump and then let the equipment take care of the rest. That was my touchstone, and it grounded me in reality.
2) Jump Fast!
The longer you wait, the more you psych yourself out. Some people think that taking a little time will help them build up courage. You need to build up your courage before you buy the ticket. Once you’re strapped in and people are waiting, you need to jump! Taking time will only embarrass you and give your brain time to rationalize why doing the walk of shame and missing a fantastic experience makes sense. When you get up there, the time for thinking is over and the time for jumping begins. But if you think you’ll need inspiration to jump quickly…
3) Don’t Freeze: Plan a Routine
Definitely, the hardest part of the whole experience is having to jump. Being on the bridge isn’t so bad, and flying through the air is just awesome. But just after you get strapped in, and everyone left is waiting and watching, you hit a wall of fear. You might think you just need a moment’s courage to jump, and then everything will be fine, but taking time will only make it harder. My routine for jumping quick was simple: I’d turn my camera towards me, I’d tell myself that I was %*$&ing Batman, I’d take a last look out over the horizon (and NOT down), then I’d immediately soar through the air. Long before my jump, I practiced visualizing the moment of fear and my routine. I drew upon comic books to steel my nerves. In one issue of Batman, Bruce Wayne has recovered from a broken back and has lost his nerve for swinging through the air. I kept thinking of being that mortal man, and though I was scared I was sure that I’d be alright if I just trusted my equipment and jumped. So, once I was strapped in I nervously shuffled to the edge, looked into my camera, said “I am f*&^ing Batman”, looked out over the horizon and immediately jumped into it.
4) Scream! But keep those eyes open!
Okay, jumping is definitely the hardest; but if you’re a wuss like me then the intial fall and sling-shot back up is pretty scary, too. I handled it by screaming! It helps! Also, with the video rolling, I wussed out and looked into my camera instead of the river rushing towards my face. It helped me keep my nerve and my sanity. By the second drop and sling-shot back into the air, I was loving every second of it!
5) Do it again, ASAP!
For a month after my bungee jump, heights honestly didn’t scare me anymore. I felt I had overcome it! And I desperately wanted to jump again, right away. If I had the chance, I would have! And you should, too! After the first time, it’s definitely going to be easier. But after a month without really challenging myself, I was terrified on the world’s second largest ferris wheel in Tokyo. Hello Kitty was terrifying enough without having my life depend on her engineering.
No comments:
Post a Comment