The Ten Meter Tower
The only way to overcome your fear is to go through it.
I came across this fantastic documentary called Ten Meter Tower. Its a video of a bunch of Swedish people jumping off a 10-meter (33 foot) tower. None of these participants have ever jumped from such a height before. Jumping from that height is like jumping from the 3rd floor of your building. Needless to say, it’s quite high.
It’s an interesting experiment to find out how do normal people behave in such a difficult situation. And to add a little more pressure, everything was being filmed and recorded. It’s one thing to admit defeat in private, but doing so in front of the cameras would certainly make it more difficult. So would they jump? Or would they chicken out?
The result is a fascinating insight into human psychology, about facing fear and about decision making in tough situations. I recommend that you pause here and first watch the video
Why are some people able to go ahead and take the plunge, while others back off? Here is what I found quite fascinating
- It doesn’t matter how old you are. A young girl could do it, so did a 70 yr old women. But the muscular guy with tattoos couldn’t.
- It matters what you are telling yourself. Those who tell themselves they can’t do it are right. And those who tell them they can - and act on it - are right too.
- More time doesn’t necessarily prepare you better. Beyond a point, you just have to trust yourself.
- Taking advice from the guy who has done it definitely helps, but doesn’t make it any easier for you a.k.a. there is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.
- And lastly, even the ones who do it are just as scared. It’s just that they chose to take a leap. Literally. There is a life lesson in there somewhere.
It reminds me of that quote by Will Smith from his talk on facing your fears - God has placed the best things in life on the other side of fear.
Best,
Kaddy
PS - Ten Meter Tower premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. It is part of a series produced by independent filmmakers who have received support from the nonprofit Sundance Institute.
PPS - If you like the Will Smith talk and are interested in the full interview, here is the link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRpi1NwHOac