Caught on video: The scariest thing I’ve ever done

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This is a video of me overcoming one of my biggest fears.

Heights. Every now and then when I cross over a bridge or look down from the 30^th floor of a building, I feel a bit of panic... Never something to tap on in my opinion, just logical. We are human, we’re not meant to be up high...at least that was always my rationalization.

But a trip of a lifetime to New Zealand changed all that.

Locals from New Zealand, often referred to as “God’s own country” and the birthplace of bungee jumping, say that if you don’t participate in at least one extreme sport while you’re there, you’re missing the point. I convinced myself that I would not succumb to peer pressure, and I told everyone in my group very gracefully that I would not be throwing myself off a bridge, but I’d happily watch and participate with moral support.

But when we arrived and I saw the first person jump, something told me that I was missing out on a great lesson...

  Conversation with my intuition: “Really?! I’ll be missing out if I don’t throw myself off a bridge?!? What can I possibly learn from that???” “Yes, there is something to learn here, if you don’t do it, you’ll regret it...” Hmmph…that’s not exactly logical, but intuition rarely is...

So I decided to go with it and throw myself off a bridge into the aqua blue river running through the mountains of Queenstown.

  You see, what I learned by stepping into my fear was that I often turn down opportunities to experience new things because they’re out of my comfort zone. I think everyone can relate to this in some way...  

How many times do you stop yourself from trying something new because you think you’ll suck at it? 

Or how often do you choose the same routine, the same restaurants, the same nights at home with your partner (takeout and the latest NCIS episode) just because it’s comfortable, it’s familiar? Stepping outside your comfort zone and experiencing something new releases endorphins in your brain, just like eating something really yummy. I had so much fun throwing myself off that bridge, I was smiling from ear to ear all day. I also noticed that I barely had an appetite...I felt so exhilarated I forgot to eat for the entire day!

When you find other ways to feel happy and excited, food just doesn’t “do it” for you anymore.

I challenge you to try it. Try something new that you’ve never given yourself permission to do before. Get a new funky haircut. Try a new style of clothes. Go sign up for a hip-hop class. Take a different route home from work. Surprise your partner with a candlelit dinner and a fun game (my new fave is “Heads Up,” an iPhone app that’s like charades). Just try one new thing and see what happens, how do you feel? Excited? Happy, more joyful, less hungry? Try it for a week and let me know what happens for you... To your exhilarating life, xo Brittany

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