03/28/2021
BREATHING FORWARD
I’m in purple on the right. My dear friend Rachel is on the left. You can’t tell that we were 30-40 feet off the ground. Might as well have been 300-400 feet. I thought it would be easier than it was.
Don’t we think life should be easier than it is? Nothing is easy.
Who wants nothing?
I got up there, heart pounding, terrified. We had to go from one telephone pole to the next. I don’t know how far apart they were. Might as well have been 1,000 yards.
I was shaking so much my body was trembling. The only way down was to complete the task by crossing over each other and reaching the telephone pole. I thought for sure I wouldn’t get through that moment.
Have you ever felt like you can’t make it through the next moment? You don’t know how you got yourself here or why you are so terrified but you are and you know staying where you are is not an option but moving forward feels impossible.
Rachel never quit encouraging me with her beautiful smile and kind and patient instruction, mentoring me the whole way. I looked to the ground to see my sweet friend Whiteside, who is pretty tiny, with all her weight planted into the ground and fully geared up with the ropes. She kept telling me to look at her eyes and stay focused. She said softly “I believe in you!” She never once said “I’ve got you.” She continued to say “you’ve got this.” I didn’t think I had anything. It was hard. Really hard. I didn’t believe I’d get through it.
Sometimes in life we don’t believe in ourselves enough but we trust people who want what’s best for us and if we focus and are coachable, we can get through anything, even when it’s hard, really hard. It’s liberating when you do something that scares the crap out of you. Amy and Abi - do not comment!!! 🤣🤣
Never listen to a mentor who says “I’ve got you” when you’re scared. The truth is the only one that has you is you and your faith and belief that if someone else could do this, so could you.
Today, Horn and Ellen are two of my best friends in life. I couldn’t thank them enough for getting me through this scary experience if I tried. It bonded us in a way no one understands or needs to. I was deeply grateful to both of them. I AM deeply grateful to them. We all have relationships like that, and no one needs to understand but us and the other person. It develops true connection. We all have scary experiences. We have to allow each other to experience our own experience- and sometimes it’s painful to watch the growth happening. You may want to do it for them. Resist. They will learn more from accomplishing it themselves. Your greatest gift is to support, but not do it for them or tell them you’ve got it for them.
It was liberating to be on the ground and know we accomplished what we set out to do when we put our mind to it. Do I need to do it again? Not in this lifetime.
What did I take away from the experience?
Mental toughness
Stronger self belief
Deep friendship
Support
Another person’s belief in me when I didn’t believe in myself
Courage
Boldness
Determination
Confidence
Breakthrough
Resilience
Gratitude
Accomplishment
Faith
Kindness
Compassion
Encouragement
Pride and
Love
And that is exactly what I teach others now because I know what it’s like to feel all these things and I know what it did for me, and I know what it can do others. The magic of confidence formation often happens outside the comfort zone. Do something that scares you. Nobody has this for you. You’ve got this. Keep the faith and the mission in front of you and go for it.
What I know for sure is I believe in you - maybe before you even believe in yourself. Love you ❤️
