WHAT'S HOLDING YOU BACK?

For more than 30 years I have had a fear of going skiing - a big fear.

At the age of 11 I reluctantly went to a friend's birthday party at a dry-ski slope. I felt unsteady just with the boots on, let alone the skis. I remember going up to the first stage on the drag lift, feeling absolutely terrified. Not surprisingly I fell over on the first "run" down, nastily breaking two fingers on the way as I caught them in the matting - ouch!

Since then, hundreds of people I've known have been skiing and all except one has loved it...... but who do you think I have chosen to believe when looking for a reference? Exactly. I have let it build up inside my mind so that the combination of heights, steepness, slipperiness and being cold that skiing represents to me - strikes fear in my mind just to think of it.

As time goes by, kids want to ski. One of mine is going with the school next year and I'm sure the other one will want to go the following year. The dreaded day of having to go skiing "en famille" seemed to be drawing ever closer.

On my recent NLP Master Practitioner course we talked a lot about limiting beliefs. We looked at what we believe about ourselves that is not useful to us. I volunteered my belief that " I would not enjoy going skiing", smiling as I did, thinking what I really meant was I'd be b****y terrified to go skiing! Well, the work we did around that, both directly and indirectly, really seemed to make a difference. On the day I got back from the course I booked up on-line to go to the snow zone slopes in Milton Keynes....... and today was the day.

I wouldn't say I was looking forward to it and was awake during the night thinking about it, but I kept my bargain with myself and headed up there this morning. I was way too early ( a bad habit of mine) and had a lot of time to think about what I was letting myself in for. I was dressed for the arctic with loads of layers on (another bad habit of mine!) as I clambered into my ski-boots, got my bindings adjusted and did up my helmet. Then I staggered out onto the snow with the nine other level one skiers and our instructor and had........ a fantastic hour!

I loved it! OK I wasn't exactly Franz Klammer but I was as good as anyone else in the group and I didn't fall over. Even got my little progress card signed up to say I had passed level one.  I am now feeling thoroughly chuffed with myself and have barely stopped grinning since I got home.

Now I know this wasn't a massive achievement in the big scheme of things but for me..... it was huge. It's about challenging yourself and stepping out of your comfort zone. In life, it's always easier not to..... but where's the fun in that? Have a think, right now, about what's holding you back. What beliefs do you hold about yourself that you'd be better off without? Think about how valid they are for you today....... and get out there and do it!