The Life Lessons that Come with Jumping out of a Plane 

The Life Lessons that Come with Jumping out of a Plane 

I have an irrational fear of heights, many of us do, of course. But even though I feel the anxiety flooding through me every time the earth gets a little bit further away, it’s all mixed with a rush of excitement.

So, I continue to push through this fear as I fully embrace it, even going to the extreme of jumping out of a plane at 10,000 feet and jumping off of a bridge at 200 feet (with a bungee attached, of course!).

I’ve put myself in such terrifying situations not necessarily to overcome my fear of heights, but to push myself out of my comfort zone—to feel the fear, then feel the power of transcending that fear, if at least just for a bit.

Flying High

Sometimes you need to scare yourself—to place yourself thousands of feet above the earth—to, ironically, feel grounded. There’s nothing like literally touching the earth after jumping out of a plane to help you fully appreciate life.

But you certainly don’t need to go to the extent of skydiving to experience this. Maybe it’s about speaking in front of a big group, or attending a new class, or simply just going somewhere you never have before.

When you purposelessly put yourself outside of your comfort zone, it lifts you out of your element, disconnecting you from a stable foundation. But this is necessary. You can’t understand the significance of feeling grounded unless you also understand it’s opposite—this is the essence of balance.

Just think about that feeling you get when your sense of comfort has been taken away. And then think about that rush you get afterwards. You’ve survived. You safely landed. You spoke in front of a big group, you tried something new, you went somewhere you never had before. This can all be exhilarating but also quite relieving, too.

And even if the outcome isn’t life-changing, or even what you hoped it would be, the fact that you did it is what matters.

Finding the Ground and Feeling Grounded

The irony is that you need to face fear—to fly high—before you can ever truly feel grounded.

When I decided to go skydiving, it actually got me thinking seriously about my life and my goals. I honestly thought I could die. Jumping out of an airplane both terrified and thrilled me. I realized I would have no control over the outcome, other than making the decision to jump or not.

The toughest part was the waiting, the anticipation as the plane creeped up higher and higher and the straps of my parachute felt like they were getting tighter and tighter. But once I was in the air… time stopped. My mind stopped. The earth stopped. And when I landed, safe and sound, it was almost like I had pressed a reset button on my life. I had never felt so “grounded.”