Overcoming Fear Through Intention and Growth

Was literally humming this song on the adventure. A year ago, I attempted my first descent on this route, somehow got through it, and had 5 white hairs sprout atop my head that night from overstimulation and having extended my comfort zone too quickly beyond its comprehension of safe. The anchors are all awkward, placed over immediate 150 ft + free hangs, and there’s a rope transition point with only a toes width to stand on, - for context. Friends' children drew pictures with me afterward and offered me weighted blankets on the couch where I zoned out for hours decompressing and recuperating from the shock of what I felt to be one of my scariest adult experiences, at that time. A year later I requested to face it again to litmus test whether I'd grown and expanded over the last year with intention. It was not only no longer frightening to me, it was bonafide fun and easy. I will remember 100% of this experience whereas last time I blacked out after the first rapp and have zero recall of the autopilot mechanics that got me down to the parking lot (learned a lot about how I survived my formative years from this experience, my survival mode is sharpened af). It is fully possible to expand and grow well past your physical fears and self-imposed limits. The things that helped me achieve this were intention, repetition, training, learning, trying lots of other new things and hobbies, the support of friends and mentors, and the fuel of a strong desire to experience personal growth. Interested in learning to canyoneer? 2 of the men who taught me everything I know today are now hosting a podcast - 🎙️“Canyon Tech” - check it out wherever you listen to podcasts for info on how to begin your adventure into the canyons and start taking your “hikes” to extreme levels