Feel the fear and do it anyway, is the title of a book by the author Susan Jeffers. I read it many years ago. What I learned from this book about how to handle fear, has helped me many times.

This picture is taken when I climbed Ama Dablam last year. It is on our way up to Camp 2 on approximately 5.800 meters. It is in an area on the route that is relatively exposed. I am standing on a narrow ledge. The stones underneath my feet are Icy and I really have to focus on where to put my foot. One thing is fore sure. I do not want to fall…..

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When I get really scared do I respond to it by getting a freeze response. I get so scared that I am sure my last hour has come, and that I am going to die. You can say that I get hysterical:-) Many of my friends have seen me when I am scared skiing in the down hill ski slope or when I climb.

This picture is also from Ama Dablam and as you see is it pretty exposed.

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Fear can either be a scary force that holds you back from doing what you really would like to do in life, or it can be a driving force for changes. When the feeling of fear enters your body and soul is it a sign that you are moving out of your comfort zone. You are on the doorstep to a new and unknown territory. You can choose to stay in the doorway with your fear and wonder what is out there in the unknown, or you can choose to step in to the new territory and explore it. The choice is entirely up to you.

I have felt the fear of doing something new and unknown many times. In fact I have  been so accustomed to the feeling, that I consider it to be part of my decision making process. I have great respect for this feeling and it forces me to be in contact with myself in the decision making moment. I am forced to go into myself and feel what is really going on there. If I am not grounded in myself and just make decision without feeling what is going on, can fear be really dangerous.

I learned an easy technic to handle my fear from my good friend and former base jumper Anniken, when we where trekking together in Bhutan. She thought  me to take a deep breath, get in contact with myself, focus on getting control over the situation and figure out what I could do to get out of the situation. I tried it when I was climbing Ama Dablam in Nepal a month later. I can promise you it helped me out of some scary situations:-)

So the next time you feel that fear is taking control over you, try to regain control over the fear by taking a deep breath, get in contact with yourself…………