LEAP OF FAITH

When you learn that every jump takes you to the destination that matters, and that you can navigate the waters you're in, you break free from anxiety, discovers Lauren Cook

- Lauren Cook

Imagine yourself staring up at a 33ft diving board. You can feel your stomach dropping already, but you start to climb the ladder. You may notice that your knees are buckling, your hands are clammy, and it's starting to feel hard to breathe. As you get to the top of the diving board, you look down and start to feel a little wobbly. You may mutter an expletive or two under your breath because, dang, this is higher up than you realised. As you stand on the edge, you look down at the water below.

This is the moment. Do you jump in? Do you take that leap of faith? Or do you step back and feel the board tremble?

Whether or not you've stood on a high dive before, we've all been there before, figuratively speaking. It's that feeling right before we get on stage to give a speech, before we tell someone we like them, or before we tell someone they've hurt us.

With each jump, we realise something profound. We learn that we can swim. We learn once we hit the water that we're capable. We see that we are no longer a victim of our fear. We also start to see that the feeling of vulnerability doesn't last forever. When we go for it, there's a sense of bravery that no one can ever take away from us. We see in that moment that we are more powerful than our anxiety. So where are you in this narrative? Are you jumping in - or slowly stepping away from the edge of the board?

The problem is, when it comes to anxiety, many of us sit on the ledge and just look down. We wonder, 'What if I can't swim?', 'What if I hit my head?', 'What if it's scary?', 'What if the water's cold?'

Here's the translation: What if they reject me? What if I fail? What if I look like an idiot? What if? What if? What if?

Let's break these 'what-ifs' down and reframe them as what they may actually represent: