Success: Take this backward step

As an instructor at Outward Bound, I belayed people backwards
over cliff edges so they could abseil down a rock face. The usual
response of participants is fear, ranging from mild excitement to
shaking terror.

The hardest part of the experience is right on the edge when you
have to hang your rear end way out and straighten your legs when all
you want to do is hug the rock and cry 'mama'. It's the most unstable
part too, where to step back up is risky and awkward, and going down
feels so wrong and terrifying.

Coaching people through this point is always about taking little baby
steps, and letting the fear run through them, breathing it out, not
holding it in. A significant amount of trust and faith in the support -
the belayer and the gear - is required to quell the 'what if' scenarios
that spark the fear response. They are taking a literal leap of faith.

With each little step, they soon discover that it's not as hard as they
imagined. I tell them to 'relax' their supporting hand, usually clenched
tight on the rope. They discover that they are safe enough to wave.

This is usually a good time to remind them to pause and look around.
The view from a cliff top is pretty awesome. That's when I get a
smile. That's the golden moment for me - when someone realizes they
are more marvelous than they imagined, that they are braver than they
thought, and they have freed themselves from the biggest thing
holding them back - their fear.

Once the euphoria of achievement fades however, they can lose
confidence and belief that they can do it again.

Success is more than just taking a leap of faith; success is
changing your beliefs so that you know in your bones that you can
do anything.

And this is what happens all the time with my clients: they are going
backwards over the cliff of the unknown, to a new business, a new
job, a new relationship, or a new way of thinking and feeling. It
feels awkward and unnatural. Sometimes they get stuck right on the
edge - scared to continue, and weighing up the risks of going back
to where they were.

Then they learn to let the fear pass through them and discover the
wild darkness of faith, trust, and support. And in that instant of giving
up being able to know what will happen, they flood their reality with
confidence and discovery of a new perspective. They awaken to just
how amazing they really are.

Then we anchor this euphoria with a belief changing process that
gives them confidence permanently.

Once you change your beliefs, there is no going back. The body and
soul know the truth: you are an incredible miracle of potential, just as
you are, right now. Feeling the fear fully and changing beliefs let's
you shift from myopic tunnel vision of worry, to knowing you are safe
and seeing a wonderful horizon.

Anything is possible then. You just need to take the little baby steps,
breathe, and enjoy the view.

Yes, you are marvelous too.

Zoe