I decided to end the year by taking a great leap of faith, strap myself to a stranger and jump from a plane about 11 000 feet above the ground.
While my initial answer to the invitation was no, I started considering it, until I agreed to the invite this coming weekend.
I have never needed to jump from a plane, bridge or anything, which meant suicide and bungee jumping were out for me.
I am not that scared of heights and wasn’t against the idea, I soon realised.
In the past three weeks, I have been soul-searching and wondering about skydiving versus bungee jumping, which brought me to an amateur but logical conclusion that the two weren’t the same type of fall or adrenaline thrill.
The thought of jumping from a bridge with a rope around my feet and body swinging across some cliff was not my idea of an adventure.
However, the more I thought about jumping out of that aeroplane, the more I started considering it and the more it ceased being that crazy after all.
I thought about all the people who would love the opportunity to skydive, but would never have the opportunity. I kept watching videos about people skydiving and describing it as an amazing experience.
As any reasonable person, I started consulting my parents.
Ironically both said, go for it.
Besides their stamp of approval, I started telling people about the adventure I was about to embark on and backtracking would make me look like a chicken – which I am entitled to. I am allowed to be scared.
Some more conversations with friends brought me to another realisation that pushed me towards the aeroplane, which was that it was okay to be scared or afraid.
Fear protects us and keeps us alive and like a friend said, there’s nothing wrong with a healthy fear, which is an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm or being afraid of someone or something as likely to be dangerous, painful, or harmful.
Apparently, overcoming fear is considered good because it allows for personal growth, but also unlocks new opportunities, improves self-confidence and enables you to live a more fulfilling life by not letting it hold you back from pursuing your goals – or so they say.
In my pursuit of happiness or skydiving, I did some more research to give me that final push to jump out of the aeroplane and overcome this fear.
Experts suggest that you should reflect on the fear, change the way you see the fear, break down and rate the fear in question and feel the fear and then overcome it.
According to smart people, skydiving provides an intense rush of adrenaline due to several physiological and psychological factors: fear and excitement, adding that jumping out of an airplane triggers a primal fear response, but also leads to a surge in adrenaline, or epinephrine, production.
I am not afraid of flying and those who know me, know I am a stare-at-the-sky-type-of-person who is a sucker for a good view.
Scanning through the thousands of reviews of skydiving, people in general describe it as a blend of adrenaline, courage and joy of letting go.
Others say it feels like flying, like being held up by the air, like a big hug from the sky.
This doesn’t sound half-bad for someone who has been single for a while and in desperate need of a hug.
It’s the ultimate point of letting go.
