It all started with a new goal for this month. Learn to do a handstand. Cos handstands are fucking cool. After practicing for a few days, I can get almost completely vertical and balance myself for a few seconds while barely using the wall to prevent me from falling over. So, the next step should be easy right. Attempt to balance myself, without using the wall as a safeguard. This seems like a simple progression, using the skills I already have acquired like strength and balance, so I don’t need the wall anymore. But it isn’t. It isn’t easy at all. Because growing up, we are psychologically programmed to fear falling. We are taught to play it safe. Not take risks. Not to fall over. My mind tries to stop me from even attempting it because:
If there’s one thing we learn growing up, it is to fear everything we loved doing as a child.
Do you remember running, jumping, and intentionally falling over as a child? I do. I used to do it all the time. I had absolutely no fear of falling. As a matter of fact, it was my favorite hobby. Falling. As a child, I couldn’t care less about falling in front of anyone. It was entirely natural to fall in the attempt of trying something I hadn’t achieved before. Like Jumping across a pit that was a 6 feet wide car wash pit, or checking out who in the neighborhood could swing the furthest. Falling was part of the game. If you didn’t fall a couple of times, the task was too easy. But as we grow up we learn to fear to fall. It could be because we become bigger and fatter. So falling hurts more.Or it could be that we become cowards. Scared of anything remotely uncomfortable. When was the last time you tried to jump a fence or a wall? Was it scary? As a child, you would have jumped off walls thrice the height without any kind of fear.
Fear of Falling in any aspect of life becomes one of the most fundamentally paralyzing factors that make many people never attempt anything new. As a result, we lose our curiosity and become boring. The fear of falling prevents us from even trying anything. This is not just in physical aspects. But it’s true even in terms of goals and ambition.Falling is embarrassing. Our egos don’t want to let others see us fall.
The moment we learn to fear falling, we rob ourselves of the confidence to try.
People say we should be more like children because children are more innocent and honest, I think there’s another reason we should try to be like children. To learn to try. Learn to fall.Even if it means hurting yourself in the process of reaching your goal.
So, first thing tomorrow I’m going to let go of the safety of the wall. And go for it. Even if it means falling. Because the pain from falling is temporary. But learning to do something new for the first time…….. well, that is forever.
Kaushal Sadashiv 