Weekly Hits & Misses

This week went by so fast – I didn’t even know when it started, and how it ended? It feels like I just posted this segment yesterday, and now it’s Sunday again?! Crazy… 

Although, it went by fast, there were quite a few highlights to this week and I’m very grateful for a lot of the experiences that I’ve had.

So lets begin…

This Week’s Hits are:

-       Mother Nature. It never fails to relax, empower and help you connect to your inner-self. This week I was fortunate enough to get away from the city life for a few days, and spend some time at the cottage. We were lucky to have a full day of sunshine on our second day there, and I made sure to enjoy it to the fullest! Lots of swimming, tanning and eating! We all know how much I love to eat… So no surprises there. This brings me to the next Hit…

-       Overcoming Fear. While at the cottage I did two things I’ve never done before in my life. I swam across the French River and back (twice!) & I jumped off a cliff!!! =) Now, to some these small accomplishments might not account to much, but to me, it meant a lot. Because lets see… A few years ago, I didn’t know how to swim, and was taught by my then boyfriend, while vacationing at another cottage. Back then I never thought I’d be brave enough to swim across a river and back… But now, only 5 years later, I conquered that fear! I’m not quite sure what the width of the river was, probably about 150-200 meters, but that’s not even the point. To me it’s the principle of actually doing it. Especially, that there was a lot of daily traffic with boats going back & forth, and I guess there was an element of danger; if by chance you’re right in the middle of the river, and a speed boat is coming your way, I’m not quite sure what I would have done… But I’m glad I didn’t have to find out. It was actually easier than I thought it was going to be. I thought I was going to get tired, breathless and wouldn’t make it to the other end, but it turned out we can always push the boundaries of our limits. That’s the only way to grow. There is limitless potential in all of us, and the only way to find out is to try the things that you are most scared of…

 
Now the jumping off a cliff thing is another story on its own. It wasn’t something I planned to do on this trip. But when a couple of my friends challenged me to it, I just had to try it. I knew that it was going to be scary, but I was not prepared for the amount of total FEAR that I felt standing on that cliff and looking down. I wouldn’t say that I’m particularly scared of heights, but also, I’m not NOT scared of them either. There is a definite element of fear & danger that I just can’t help but feel standing next to a balcony and looking down off of a high-rise or any other similar situation with heights.

I remember once watching a reality TV show, where the contestants were challenged to jump off a cliff, as part of their addiction healing process. I remember there were some who were scared but still went for it with full force, and jumped off, and then there were some, who couldn’t do it! They just couldn’t do it…And I remember thinking: Oh my, I wonder if I was ever in that situation, what would I do? And I also remember thinking, I’m sure I would do it regardless, even if I was scared to death… But honestly, I was not prepared for the amount of fear that enveloped me from head to toe, almost paralyzing me with fright! There were 4 of us in total who wanted to jump, and one of our friends, Vitaliy, was the bravest, he didn’t even allow himself the time to think, and therefore, develop his fear. As soon as we climbed up to the cliff, he came up to the edge, looked down once, counted down to 3 and JUMPED OFF! Just like that! We were shocked! And once in the water, he kept screaming to us to go for it, that it was the best feeling ever, and nothing to be scared of. Nonetheless, the 3 of us kept standing on that cliff, looking down in fear. We probably stood there for 8-10 minutes, contemplating the jump.

I was shaking, and didn’t even know why. I knew logically that it wasn’t that dangerous, as there were no visible rocks that I could hit on the way down. Just water. And since I know how to swim, what’s the big deal, right? Why was it scary? What was that thing that was holding me back? Yes, it’s true that I’ve never jumped before, and had no idea how to do it properly. What exactly to do with my body before and during the jump… I guess that is what was holding me back.

We kept standing on that cliff, not daring to jump, and then the brave friend, Vitaliy, came back up to jump again. We all said that if he does it again, we’ll all do it. So what do you know? He does the same thing, comes up to the edge, counts down to 3 and jumps! So, now I just HAD to do it. Why can he do it and I can’t was my competitive voice saying inside. So, after about a minute from his 2^nd jump, I FINALLY JUMPED! You’re supposed to hold your body straight, and hold your nose with your hand, while keeping your elbows close to your body. And of course, I did the opposite. I don’t remember what my body was doing during the jump, but those who watched me jump, said that my body was doing a combination of a bird like arm flapping, and a star shape. I would have loved to have seen a video of it, but unfortunately, there isn’t one. 

Anyways, this turned out to be a long story, but one I believe that will help a lot of people in conquering and overpowering their own fears, whatever they might be. No matter how scared you are, JUST DO IT!! Close your eyes if you have to, say a prayer, and just go for it. I can say now with confidence: overcoming and stepping over your fear to do something you’re scared of is by far the best feeling ever! And I’m proud of myself for doing it! Next up: Wonderland & Sky Diving!!

This Week’s Misses are:

-       My bedroom. I’ve been planning on doing a make-over for my bedroom for quite some time. It honestly is long overdue. My plan was to get it done before the summer is over, and now August is almost over and I have not done it! So all, jokes aside I have to get it done in the next few weeks… I will do lots of How-To & DIY posts about the make-over in the future.

-       Another procrastination of mine is starting and sticking to Tony Robbins’s fabulous Get the Edge program. My sister and her fiancé are both doing the program right now, and have inspired me to do the same. I promise, tomorrow I am going to start it and stick to it every day! Depending on my results, I will post the positive changes that I am going to start seeing from applying these principles.

I could probably write more, but this post is long enough already…

So I’ll stop here and I will see you all back here next week.

Same time, same place. =)