The Sky’s the Limit
By Ann Aguirre | August 10, 2011 |
We are our own worst enemies.
When I read the words, “I can’t, because…” I feel sad. Because that is the reason you can’t. Because you believe you can’t, because you don’t try. And then failure is a given.
We can’t let fear of failure keep us from reaching for the biggest, reddest apple at the top of the tree. Does it mean we might fall as we climb? Absolutely. But that’s part of life: getting up, dusting yourself off, and trying again. Hopefully, you learned something and the next time, you’ll get closer.
Fear can be a paralyzing force. And it doesn’t just apply to writing. Sometimes we stick to safe, familiar roads. We only do the things we’re already sure we can do.
I have mild coulrophobia, and I’ve been a clown.
I have a fear of heights, and I have climbed Machu Picchu.
I’m a bit claustrophobic, but I’ve been to the top of the Empire State building.
I wasn’t sure I could do any of those things at first. I first said, “I’ll try,” and then I didn’t stop trying until I had attained the goal. Machu Picchu in particular was terrifying. It hasn’t changed, measurably, in a thousand years. There are no guard rails, only steep stone steps carved into the side of the mountain with people running up and down both ways. A single misstep can pitch you off the side. Several times, I thought I’d die of fear. My heart pounded until I couldn’t hear anything but the blood rushing in my ears. I had tears in my eyes as people who weren’t afraid ran nimbly down past me like mountain goats, and I could only see this incredible climb ahead of me. It was dire. And then I focused on putting one foot in front of the other, getting to the next step, and then the next. My husband came behind me, watching my back, even though I was slow, even though I sometimes had to stop and rest my face against the rock because I was that scared. And yet I kept climbing because I wanted to say I had conquered my fear, that I had seen the top of the ancient temple where Mayan feet once trod.
And I made it. I wasn’t one of the first to arrive, all surefooted grace. I wasn’t the last, either. The view was worth the ordeal and the fear of falling. It was majestic like few things I have ever seen. Words cannot describe how it felt to stand in a place so old and unchanged by time. And I only made it because never once did I say, I can’t.
Sometimes success is as simple as putting one foot in front of the other and not stopping until you get there. So whatever your goal, don’t tell yourself all the reasons you can’t. Resolve to try. And don’t quit. If you do that, then the sky’s the limit.
Views of Machu Picchu tours © Matthew Barker, Peru For Less 2009
Ann Aguirre is a bestselling, multi-published author with a degree in English Literature. She is a prolific writer, with nine releases planned for 2011 alone. She writes romantic science fiction and urban fantasy under her own name. As Ava Gray, she writes high-octane romances. She also writes “hot paranormal apocalyptic action” with fellow author Carrie Lofty under the pseudonymn Ellen Connor. Follow her on Twitter.
I had one of those moments, too, and it was also related to heights. A few years ago, when my kiddos were 11 and 14, they wanted to try a high ropes course. Set into trees about 30 feet off the ground was a series of balance challenges and zip lines. They both suited up in safety gear and went up, with me taking pictures from below. (I don’t do heights gracefully. . . )
Well, 11 year old scampered through like a mountain goat. 14 year old became paralyzed with fear.
I told him that if he could do it, *I* would do it next.
So he did. And then I had to.
I never realized that *every* part of you can sweat under stress. Even your ankles! Yes, I had the thought-I-was-going-to-die heart pounding, et al, but also had this enormous sense of triumph afterwards.
I like the ‘I’ll try’ instead of ‘I can’t’. Kudos to you for your epic climb!
LJ- this is indeed scary, but tell us, when all was said and done with, did you enjoy the ride?
Enjoy? Not exactly, but I was glad I did it. :)
Wow, what an inspiring (and surprisingly visual) post. Thank you for this reminder, and for sharing one of your fears-turned-successes!
Great post, Ann. Very inspiring!
I once read that the definition of fear is:
False Evidence Appearing Real.
Thanks for a pep talk on a dreary, muggy day. Many business schools and psychologists have studied successful people and found that the single most consistent factor in determining success is refusal to quit.
People who fail, pick themselves up and plunge forward are more likely to succeed at whatever given task than those who obsess and brood over every setback. Call it desire, or hunger, or stubborn nature, or whatever, but it’s the same thing – a refusal to take no for an answer.
Thank you, Ann. A fantastic and inspiring post! I needed the pep talk today. Yes, I can! :)
Those mountaintop highs, great as they are, can fade, and we find outselves back in those deep ruts of fear. Sometimes, remembering the exhileration of one of those moments is enough to convince us to climb out of the rut again and start that fearful, but oh-so-rewarding ascent.
Thank you for this reminder, Ann.
Fascinating and inspiring post. Did it make heights any easier after? Do you still search out heights? Or did you have what you needed — you’d faced down the demon once, and got the strength and inspiration, so you didn’t have to repeat the experience?
I’m still afraid of heights. I still don’t like clowns. My fears don’t go away, but I consider kind of a personal challenge to do things despite my fears — to fight through to the other side. Each time I do, it gets easier to manage, and my sense of resolve grows stronger because I know I can do it. I have before. I will again. I refuse to limit myself.
Interesting and inspiring!
Your advice is much like another Anne, with an “e”!
“Sometimes success is as simple as putting one foot in front of the other and not stopping until you get there….”
It applies to every walk of life and help to succeed in every task of life.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Thanks for the inspiration!
And if the reason for your fear is the length of time something will take, by the way, just remember that little bits at a time add up quicker than you know it. Don’t let that be the reason you don’t achieve something, even if somebody else could do it faster!
Great post, Ann! And you’re right. I have a certain fear problem when riding my horse that I am determined to conquer and my trainer keeps telling me not to even THINK that I can’t do it. I know that I can, yet there is that niggling part of my brain that says I’m never going to be able to do it. But, like you, I’m going to do it despite the fear and it WILL happen.
Thank you for reminding me of what needs to be done in order to attain some of our goals.
Patti