The first time I tried wall climbing, I came up of course facing the wall. But since I didn’t know how to go down, I ended up sliding down the rope WHILE facing the crowd below. That was the UP Fair a few years back. I assure you, there were many people and I even heard a not-so-nice comment from a stranger.
Then last year, I did it again, in a resort in Batangas, while my officemates watched from below. This time, we were taught how to climb down, before we were taught how to climb up. Some said it was a 40-feet-drop. Maybe it was more. I never bothered to ask. Only four of us dared to do it, and we were all shaky as each of us went to the edge, tightly held on the rope with our shaking and sweaty hands, and stepped off the board and started “walking” down the wall. (You get the picture.)
And when we finally got down, we had to climb up. It was tricky at times, when you only have a few small rocks to grab onto, but I kept trying to remember what the guide told us: make a step first to push yourself up. If you think about it this way, you’re not really pulling yourself up (which is harder actually), but pushing yourself up using your legs (instead of pulling yourself with your arms).
Somehow, we were able to reach the top, and slide down just fine for a second time. 🙂
I loved every moment of this experience. It taught us to be brave. More importantly, I was able to overwrite an embarrassing experience, and replace it with this one.
I hope you, too, could find the opportunity to try out one more time something you’ve always wanted to do. Maybe a fear you wanted to conquer. Or a bad experience you’d like to overwrite. Give yourself the gift of a second chance. If helps to have supportive people around you, so I hope you find yourself surrounded with them too. 🙂
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Courage is something we need not just in climbing walls and conquering fear, but in continuously creating a life that makes sense to us. Here’s another article on the subject.
Wishing you courage, and loving people to cheer you on!
Life Is 