Life Lessons From a Zip Line
How I faced my fear and moved forward
A few years ago, I traveled to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico for a friend's 50th birthday celebration.
Our group of eight women, most of whom lived in Washington, D.C., stayed in a beautiful multi-level villa near the beach. The group included a doctor, attorney, corporate executives and entrepreneurs.
On our second full day, two of us decided to take the free zip lining incentive award after sitting through a lengthy time share presentation and several aggressive sales pitches the day before. I had never done zip lining and thought it would be an interesting adventure.
We waited in the lobby of our villa for the van to take us to our location and arrived in a wooded area with a group of other participants. I sat in the front row as two handsome instructors gave us a brief basic training. They gave us gloves, helmets and outfitted us with harnesses.
The instructors discussed safety tips and talked to the group about the importance of hand placement on the zip line. One instructor explained that as long as the front hand remained slightly open on the cable, we would continue to go forward. However, if you close your hand around the cable, like a fist, your movement would stop, he explained. The goal was to get to the other side where another instructor would be waiting for us.
After the training, the group followed the instructors through a wooded area, stopping at the top of a hill. "Welcome to my office," one of the instructors said with his arm stretched toward a zip line above. I was standing right behind him. He turned toward me and said, "Lottie, you're up."
First Up
I took a breath, stepped forward and the instructor hooked a belt from my harness to the cable. This was something new that I had never done before. My heart was pumping as I moved forward on the zip line. But then, fear took hold of me and I closed my hand around the cable, stopping my movement.
I dangled in the middle of the zip line, my eyes closed, afraid. I was surrounded by trees. There were rocks and water underneath me.
I realized there was no one coming out there to rescue me in the middle of the zip line. Also, there was a whole line of folks who were behind me, waiting their turn.
Here I was, stuck in the middle of the zip line. I couldn't go back, but I was scared to move forward.
The instructor on the other side yelled, "Open your hand! Open your hand!" But I was paralyzed with fear.
As I clung to the cable, I realized there was no one coming out there to rescue me in the middle of the zip line. Also, there was a whole line of folks who were behind me, waiting their turn.
I was holding up progress, not only for myself, but for others. I was wasting time. I had to move forward.
Moving Forward
So I opened my hand slowly and I began to move forward, afraid. Before I knew it, I was on the other side. The instructor said, "You did it!"
I was filled with a sense of joy and accomplishment.
Yes, I said, "I did it!"
We did about seven zip lines that day and with each one I became less fearful. It was like a courage muscle had been activated inside me. There was something about facing that big scary thing that I had been afraid of that built a sense of confidence.
By the time our group got to the superman (an activity in which participants lay flat in a contraption attached to a cable and fly forward), I was confident enough to step forward when the instructors called for volunteers. As I "flew" through the air, I stopped screaming and opened my eyes. I saw flowers, a few cacti, the clouds above and a few birds. It was beautiful. It was something I would not have experienced if I had kept my eyes closed and screamed the entire time.
I realized after my zip line experience that there have been many times in my life that I've been stuck, afraid to move forward or take action on my dreams. It's easy to stay in place, complacent, comfortable with where things are and how things have been. But staying in place has not necessarily improved or changed my life. In fact many times, staying in place has caused me disappointment, frustration, stress and lots of regret.
There was something about facing that big scary thing that I had been afraid of that built a sense of confidence.
The zip line taught me that when I am open to new opportunities and have the courage to move forward, there is joy on the other side of fear. It's not good to stay in place, dangling in the middle of life, stagnant. Even the most successful people make plans to move forward, make some progress in an area, and work to achieve an impossible goal.
The major difference between them and so many of us stuck on a zip line is that they have the courage to go toward what they want. I think about some of the earlier winners and participants from "American Idol" — Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood. They went from unknown talented singers to talk show hosts, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award winners, Broadway stars and major talent that have graced stages from the Kennedy Center to the White House.
Imagine the places you could go, the people you could meet, and the amazing things you could experience because you decided to open your hand and move forward.
