How to avoid psyching yourself out of skydiving.

Posted on | September 22, 2008 | No Comments

I did it last year and fell in love with it. I’m doing it again this weekend. Yes, I am jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. I am skydiving.

I have offered the invite to anyone and everyone who knows that I am going this weekend. I am trying to get a few friends to come with me so that we can share this unique experience with each other. It’s no fun if I’m jumping without a few friends. I have visions of all us touching ground and giving one big group hug, hooting, hollering, and hi-fiving each other, dancing in my head.

Skydiving interests me in many regards. Not just purely because of the adrenaline rush. I am completely fascinated by the self-talk that most people give themselves when deciding not to do such an activity.

The following is how my mind approaches the moment when I jump out.

First, stop psyching yourself out. People psyche themselves out of everything nowadays. They convince themselves out of a promotion. They talk themselves out of asking a girl out. They talk themselves out of a business deal or a sale. People talk themselves out of anything and everything. They talk themselves out of any good that can come into their life.

I know it can be easier said than done to stop the negative self-talk. Instead of focusing on the end result, or the case of a negative end result (ie; possibly dying), I block that out by focusing on each little moment before the “big moment.” Here’s how my mind works when it comes to skydiving. The process can be applied to anything.

When I’m at the hangar bay getting into my jumpsuit, I just focus on trying to get into the jumpsuit and practicing what my instructor tells me to do when jumping. I don’t worry about anything else.

I’m now boarding the plane. I just focus on boarding the airplane and getting snug and fit with everyone else. My instructor whispers last minute instructions as we climb altitude. I intently listen and focus on that and that alone.

The door starts to open and it’s time for us to crawl to the door for the jump. I just focus on working my way towards the door. I don’t focus on the fact that I’m closer to death or any other form of negative thought. I just focus on the task at hand.

Next thing I know, I’m spinning out of the airplane and enjoying the moment. What else can I do? I can’t get back into the airplane. So I may as well enjoy the next 3 minutes.

Seems pretty simple, eh? Well it is. But it isn’t as well. It takes so much mental power to block out all negativity.

But if you can do that, jump out, and touch ground, you’ll feel the greatest sense of accomplishment in the world. You did something that about 95% of most people can never do. And that’s worth hooting and hollering about.

A wise businessman once told me “the battle is often won in the mind before it is won on the battlefield.” How true. We have to control what goes on in our mind.