People erroneously think that the opposite of fear is courage. That’s not true. Courage is the ability to move and do, in spite of the fear. AND NO, you don’t need to first conquer your fear first before doing stuff.
The only way to conquer your fear is to do the thing you are afraid of.
In September of last year after surviving having Cov.id that nearly took my life, I took a small vacation to Abu Dhabi and there was only one thing on my mind: Conquer my fear of rollercoasters.
I’d never been on a rollercoaster before but I had a terrible fear of them.
You know the funny part?
You are more likely to be killed on the road on your way to an amusement park, than the rollercoaster in the amusement park itself.
This is what I kept repeating to myself in the vehicle from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.
I kept telling myself, “If I can travel via road that’s even more dangerous, I can do this”. Besides, what’s the worst that will happen?
Long story short, I went to Ferrari World Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, paid the obscene ticket fare for all the scary rides, and worked my way from the less daunting to the most hair-raising, adrenaline-pumping activities.
Then I did the world’s highest rollercoaster loop -Flying Aces- standing at 63 meters, and the world’s fastest rollercoaster -Formula Rossa- that goes from 0 to 240km/h in only 4.9 seconds, with us pulling up to 4.8Gs.
Let me tell you, I thought it was the end for me as I screamed and cried during the entire ride, turning upside down, sideways and pointing upwards to my maker in a twist of convoluted loops designed to make one throw up if they had the unfortunate luck of eating before getting on.
I kept asking myself, “What will I tell God when I got to heaven, when He asks me how i died”? But it was over in 90 seconds.
And it was the most exhilarating 90 seconds of my life!!!
I swore I would never do something like that again when I came down from the final rollercoaster, but after eating a nice plate of Chicken Alfredo Pasta and drinking Soda Machine Coca Cola, I realised it won’t be my last time.
Who knew that inside of this scaredy cat of a woman afraid to leave her comfort zone when it came to scary experiences, hid an adrenaline junkie? Not me.
Now that I know that the fear is all in my head, I cannot wait for more of these kinds of experiences (within safety protocols of course).
I finally started living truly and fully in my 30s, when I realised that embracing fear was the only way to defeat it.
I have made more money, taken bolder steps, made massive moves and have never been happier and I wish the same for you too.
No matter how old or young you are or where you are on your life’s journey, you too can decide to start living, embracing the fear and doing everything you were meant to do, and be.
I am rooting for you.
