Fear: Your Catalyst
Let it chase you towards your goals, not away from them.
I said yes to the hike without much thought aside from,
“How hard could it be?”
Well, well, well…
The top looks decently innocuous from here.
Until you’re staring down the barrel of the beast. Nothing too crazy, just a ~2,000-foot drop to your certain death if you make the wrong move, take a step with too much momentum, or miss a handhold. And yes, the rocks are jagged.
Mind you, my unprepared legs were already quaking from the hike in and climb up to the summit.
Had I looked at these photos, perhaps I would’ve held more reservations about this undertaking. Instead, I mustered the remaining confidence I had and continued onward. I was offered the chance to turn around here, and several times on subsequent peaks. I turned them down.
I may not be the most scared of heights, but to say I wasn’t scared at all is a bold-faced lie.
Each time I wanted to pause, I reminded myself that action kills fear.
I set small milestones that I aimed for, and moved the marker down the mountain slowly but surely until I ended up on the other side.
I played music quietly on my phone I was familiar with, to settle my nerves.
I endured the cramps that caused involuntary movements, and a mind that was screaming for me to cease all movement while creating slow-motion animations of me falling off the mountain.
