I seemed to develop a new fear overnight.

My husband and I had been hiking for hours and we only had a hundred meters left to reach the summit. The last section involved climbing over large boulders and rocks.

In my peripheral vision, I caught sight of the edge of the mountain and the terrifying cliff that led to a body of water called “Abyss Lake.”.

My body instinctively froze and I dropped down to hug the rocks. I was paralysed. I couldn’t move forward or backwards. That’s when I knew I had developed a fear of heights. This had never happened to me before.

I thought if I did make it to the top, I might not be able to come back down. I’d get stuck and not be able to descend. They’d have to rescue me by helicopter! How embarrassing! How expensive!

So, I said to my husband, “I think I’m going to stay here. Go on ahead and take photos for me.”

I knew he’d respect my wishes, but he asked: “Are you sure that’s your final decision?”

I thought about it.

This moment was crucial. If I didn’t face my fear this one time, my panic might become a more serious issue. I might never hike mountains again and I might even start to feel nervous on ladders or tall buildings.

So, I took a deep breath, felt my fear, and decided to climb to the top anyway.

I concentrated on one movement at a time. Left foot. Right hand. Left hand. Right foot.

I didn’t look down. I didn’t look up. I looked directly at the step I had in front of me until we had reached the top.

And you know what? Going back down was no problem. For whatever reason, the heights did not affect me at all. I scrambled down that section of the mountain in a fourth of the time it took me to get up.

It’s interesting how that happens. My instinctual fear of heights helpfully warned me of mortal danger, but my mind immediately started creating a story about what would happen next. If I had given in to my fear, I’d always assume an expensive helicopter trip would be my only way down.

I’m glad I faced my fear and saw that reality was much more pleasant than my imagination.

How do you overcome your fears? Let me know in the comments.

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