September 4, 2017

Feel The Fear and Zip Anyway

Whenever we have a group of friends or a family book in with us, there are inevitably one or two members of that group who are more scared than excited about the prospect of flying down our awesome ziplines. That’s completely normal and nothing to be ashamed of but studies have shown that there are actually huge benefits to participating in activities that scare the hell out of us.

It was one of America’s most famous first ladies, Eleanor Roosevelt, who originally advised people to “Do one thing every day that scares you,” and now there is evidence to back up her sage advice:

It’s actually been proven that doing things that scare us makes us more productive, prepares us for new challenges, helps to push our boundaries, boost our confidence, and makes it easier to utilise our creativity.

Plus, people discover that there is less to fear in life when they do the things they were initially afraid of.

And on top of all that, every time your heart starts to beat like a jack-hammer from fear or being uncomfortable, it’s a great reminder that you’re not just alive but actually living!

There’s a popular saying in gyms and exercise classes that goes along the lines of this; get uncomfortable because being uncomfortable is where you really start to see changes. This is true, both in the sense that your body responds to physically tougher challenges by adapting and becoming stronger and because in the process, your mind becomes stronger too. You begin to withstand scary things, things you didn’t think you were capable of withstanding and in doing so, you become tougher and more resilient.

Although we encourage anyone who is struggling with their fear of heights to tackle it head on by zipping with us, we never push anyone to do so (figuratively or literally, despite the occasional plea from onlookers!). It would actually be counter-productive as that person wouldn’t really be overcoming the hurdle themselves. Instead, we simply encourage people to step out of their comfort zones and the results and invariably fantastic.

By far, the people that gain the most satisfaction from their tour with us (if not the most pleasure at the time) are the ones who were frightened at the beginning of it. Indeed, we’ve had people in tears with anxiety at the beginning of the tour, only to finish it with beaming smiles on their faces and book in to come back the next day so that they can really relax enjoy the adventure from start to finish.

We agree with our mate Eleanor that you should do something each day that frightens you; it’s healthy to face your fears and teach yourself that you can handle whatever life throws your way.

So, if you’ve been thinking about visiting us at Ecozip Adventures but your fear of heights has stopped you from doing so, we encourage you to tackle that fear head on! We reckon you’ll thank yourself for it afterwards…