We’ve all got certain things we would never do in our lives. For me, one of those things is rock climbing up a tall and steep mountain…and definitely not without a rope or safety gear!
Alex Honnold is a famous rock-climber who scaled Yosemte’s El Capitan and did it all without a rope or safety gear. In his defense, he did practice climbing it for over two years but still…that’s one crazy dude! You can check out his movie “Free-Solo” where he documents the whole thing.
I heard that neuroscientists performed scans of his amygdala and discovered that his amygdala doesn’t operate in the normal way. You see, the amygdala is behind the whole “fight or flight” response in the human body. Basically it controls how we process emotional ( and sometimes stressful) information as well as memory.
I’m still confident I would never go rock-climbing, especially such a high mountain like Alex, and especially not without ropes or safety gear. But isn’t it amazing what humans can achieve when they conquer their fear instead of letting it conquer them?
If we’re not involved in such extreme sports, it may feel like the common fears we experience during the day may not warrant so much of our attention but I’d argue that any kind of fear can easily turn into a wildfire of worry, doubt and more fear. So we still have to remain diligent about safeguarding our inner dialogue. We’ve got to figure out a strategy that works best for our unique situations so we can conquer our fears and not allow it to cripple our efforts.
The last year has been challenging for all of us and we’ve all been impacted by it in different ways. My friend Nicolai Glazer shared some of the ways he has overcome last year’s frustrations and how he continues to tackle the challenges he faces every day.
Some of his strategy includes:
- Surfing – connect with nature
- Yoga – connect with self
- His Dogs – connect with unconditional love
Simple? Yes, but very effective!
These are some great examples of how we can take everyday activities and interactions, and turn them into ways we cope, manage and overcome. Most of our lives can already feel very complex. Keeping our routine simple and the way we connect easy, we give ourselves a greater chance to actually implement our strategies especially when we need it the most.
Bottomline: Find your center and fill your cup first (mental health) so that you can be the best version of yourself.