(AS SEEN ON PARADE.COM) Here at Mind Your Body, we’re all about minding your mind, too. I really don’t want to ever have to say, “I wish I’d done that.” Of course, not everything we want to do or accomplish is within our control, but so much really is. So often, we’re simply held back by fear—fear of being hurt physically or emotionally. Maybe it’s fear of being rejected or disappointed. Sometimes it’s the fear of fear itself.
With age, it’s easy to think that, “Gee, it’s ‘too late’ for me to do X or Y.’” Actually, “too late” may exist only in your mind, say experts in human behavior such as psychologist Carla DeFraine, Ph.D., of Irvine, Calif. In this video, she urges us to push past our self-created ceiling and see the entire sky of opportunities that await us.
The celebrities we follow have certainly had to do this, pushing past failed auditions, and myriads of reasons why “you’re not right for this role.” They don’t let that stop them, and neither should you.
Just do it
Sometimes we do push past a fear and find ourselves at the precipice, ready to jump into something new—something terrifying because we’ve never done it before. And that is just the point. Doing something new is exciting and gives us a feeling of accomplishment.
I like to quote actor, producer, writer, and musician Hugh Laurie who says, “It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.”
Check out my new emotional health video here for Mind Your Body, as you meet Kurt Kohanowich, age 52, and the lovely Therese Carter, 51, of Southern California. They’ve got a lesson for us all about pushing past fear.
Live in the now
Kurt, who’s an experienced skydiver, wrote me about Therese that, “She was an international flight attendant for 10 years and has been interested in skydiving, but has held back because of her fear. She’s always loved flying, and traveled extensively, and really has an adventurous heart trapped in the mind and body of the modern woman with responsibilities raising kids!”
He continued, “Anyway, she’s just the love of my life, and I asked her about this idea of jumping and she was really interested in it. I’d love to be on the same load as her as well, and give her a kiss and jump out before she does, and meet her on the ground!”
I wouldn’t do this—I am absolutely, positively terrified of the thought—but Kurt reminds me why I need to get over myself. Therese didn’t let her emotions keep her from having the time of her life.
“Skydiving is something that reminds me to live more in the moment, and to worry less about the past and the future,” he says. “When Therese and I began to see each other, I knew I had found someone who thought that way as well. She loves to ride motorcycles with me, and I thought if she were to go on a tandem skydive, she’d feel that same freedom that I felt when I first started this sport.”
See what happened here, and ask yourself what new determination you can take away from Therese and Kurt’s experience, and from Dr. DeFraine’s advice. Oh, and yes, you can do it! Believe me, I’m working on this, too.