Feel The fear...........and do it anyway?

Maybe yes, maybe no.  It's about being in control and making decisions that are right for you. Couple that with a toolkit of skills you can draw on to support you and help you stay calm and relaxed a whole new world of  inner confidence opens up.  Skills to use whether you are birthing your baby or riding the worlds fasted zipline....

"you've got more guts than me"
​"wow that looks scary"  

Those were some of the comments made by friends when I posted on Facebook pics of me riding Velocity 2, the worlds fasted zip line. (www.zipworld.co.uk/adventure/velocity)   

When the man harnessing me onto the line asked "are you scared?" I was able to say with complete honesty - absolutely not, why would I be?  

And do you know why I wasn't scared about hurtling down a zipline at 100 miles an hour? - because I put in the work and used all the techniques I teach in my hypnobirthing courses to help me stay calm and relaxed.  Because I knew if I was calm and relaxed rather than scared and anxious I would have more fun.   

The Velocity 2 experience is eye wateringly expensive, the ride takes just 45 seconds.  A once in a life time.  So, I wanted to enjoy and fully embrace every single precious second.  Had I been scared and fearful I would have missed the exhilarating feeling of flying, seeing the world from a birds perspective, cheering on my daughter as she overtook me on the other line, the feeling of the air rushing past my ears.  It was extraordinary. 

So what did I do to put me in a state of calm confidence?

In hypnobirthing classes talk about making informed decisions that are right for you and your baby.  We use our BRAINS!  So I used my BRAIN 

Benefits:  What were the benefits? - it was a once in a life time experience that I will remember for the rest of my days and one I can share with my daughter.

Repercussions or Risks:  What were the risks? - the risk of something bad happening during the ride was negligible.  It was not in the company's best interest to set me up to have an accident on their attraction.  So, they put in place numerous safety measures to absolutely minimize their risk.  I could see this in practice at every step from putting on the harness, to being attached to the line.  Everything was double checked by 2 people and they kept a close eye on the weather conditions.  If I didn't do it I would forever regret it: yet another thing to be added to my list of "if only's".  

There are benefits and risks to everything we do.  We need to know them and that includes the benefits and risks of not doing something.  Only then can we make an informed decision.
Risk is individual, what I see as risky you may not. 

Alternatives:  What are the alternatives?  for me the only alternative was not doing the ride....

There are always alternatives, to every suggestion.  You need to find out what they are so you can work out what is best for you.

Information/Instincts:  I had the information from the company website about how they would keep me safe and I trusted my instincts....

Listen to your instincts, they will more often than not lead you in the direction that is right for you

Nothing: is doing nothing an option to consider? for me doing nothing was not an option, today was the day!  I had been wanting to do the zipline since it opened but I couldn't justify the cost, family stuff got in the way.  I put it off and off and off....

Doing nothing does not mean DOING NOTHING, EVER!  It's about taking time.  Pausing and being patient is often the best course of action.........

Smile: smiling releases oxytocin that makes you feel good - who doesn't want a drop of that!  So I smiled!

Keep Smiling!

But, I didn't stop at using my BRAINS.  After using my BRAINS and making the decision to go ahead I used 3 of the techniques I teach in my hypnobirthing classes: breathing, positive affirmations and visualisations......​

Breathing:  Having said smiling releases oxytocin the hormone of calmness and feeling happy so does breathing.  Before I stepped forward to be attached to the zipline I took 3 deep, slow breaths - in through my nose and out through my mouth and then again as I was hanging waiting to be released. 

Positive Affirmations  Then to add an extra level of calmness I used positive affirmations during my breaths - I am confident , I am awesome. 

Visualisation  And finally (just to be sure) I ran the experience through in my mind visualising myself on the zipline laughing and having fun.     

So, I put in the work, did my preparation and set myself up to have a fabulous time and guess what I DID!  

In a KG Hypnobirthing course we explore how you can apply all these techniques to the birth of your baby, setting you up to feel empowered and to birth your baby in calm confidence or skydive from 10000 feet...skills for life not just for birth.  

Kate Ellwood

Mother, Wife, Hypnobirthing Teacher, First Aid Instructor and so much more...