Runways

New things take us out of our comfort zone, but discomfort brings us into the present. From the moment you commit, you get to be your ally. You get to choose to ask yourself:

What have I done?

Or

How am I going to make the most of this?

🪁 🪁 🪁

You’re gonna do great!

Just watch the guys take off in front of us…

Five jumpers later…

Nevermind! Just don’t stop running!

Rewind. Here’s the quick recap —

I’m in Brazil with my mother. We driving up a mountain. I decide to go hand-gliding. Secure a thin helmet to my head. Watch everyone in front of me “fail” to launch correctly…and proceed to run off the cliff away.

It was one of the best, wildest, and most unsure decisions I’ve ever made. Nothing inside me felt comfortable. But I’ve always found a lot of value in discomfort.

(Sidebar: I’ve had to because I spent most of my youth slightly to extremely worried about everything.)

My tandem lead and I take off running, his simple advice is the mantra in my head: just keep running.

I went from ‘this is the worst decision’ to sheer awe in a split second. As we glided over Rio de Janeiro, I realized there was no other way to have this experience. It required the jump. I have no idea how long we were in the air, but as we landed on the beach my tandem partner congratulated me on a perfect take-off.

The problem with everyone in front of you was that they hesitated.

My instructor (if you call someone who give you 7 minutes of prep time that) explained the falls I watched with the five guys in front of me. They essentially fell and had to catch another updraft before they took off. But when my lead and I kept our pace and just “kept running” straight off the cliff edge we instantly soared.

The most self-sabotaging thing you can do is to make a thoughtful decision and then hesitate. If you’re going out on a limb, don’t bring your suitcase of doubt along. It’s so much harder to succeed.

You can’t always change the first thought the pops into your head, but you get to choose the next one. Living a fearless life is not about eliminating doubt. It’s about learning how to see all of our emotions as information and knowing how to support ourselves. Progress doesn’t always look like a traditional win.

Wishing you the courage to see the world for its possibility and to see yourself for your potential. And when you get to the scary parts, remember, “just don’t stop running”. 🏃🏽‍♀️ 🏃🏽‍♀️ 🏃🏽‍♀️