Fear of heights

Psychiatry identifies three different categories of phobia: Agoraphobia is a fear of open spaces. It is also a fear of having a panic attack in a public place, of losing control in an area from which escape may prove difficult or embarrassing. Social Phobia is an irrational anxiety brought forth by exposure to certain social situations, leading to avoidance behaviour. Specific Phobia is a persistent and irrational fear in response to some specific stimulus, which commonly results in avoidance of/withdrawal from that stimulus. It could be triggered by an insect or animal (zoophobia), by a situation like being trapped in an enclosed space (claustrophobia) or it could be a fear of disease (pathophobia). Fear of heights is one of the most widespread of fears. In some situations a fear of heights is quite appropriate and a matter of common sense. According to psychologists, there are only two natural fears – fear of loud noises and fear of heights. However, a morbid fear of high places, which is the definition of acrophobia, can be very bad for you. If you found yourself in a "high" situation, it would be much better for you to have your wits about you. Feeling an intense fear while inside a safe environment such as a skyscraper is not an appropriate response. As with many fears, acrophobia often goes hand in hand with other phobias, a fear of flying in particular. As it is a fairly common phobia, many sufferers choose to live with it rather than try to get help, accommodating their lifestyle to the limitations. This can prove crippling to many aspects of life from holidays to accommodation, even limiting your possible career options. The best methods for curing acrophobia involve gradual desensitisation, slowly exposing the sufferer to ever-greater heights while teaching them relaxation techniques that will enable them to maintain their presence of mind. Some of the methods that work best are NLP and timeline therapy.

Learn from the characters

Your life is shaped and influenced by the people that you live with, work with, and hang out with. People are definitely the single biggest source of influence in each other's lives. If you think of your life as a story, the people in your life are the characters in the story. Just like you can learn from characters in any good novel, you can learn many things from the characters in your own story. I met a woman once that kept a journal specifically about things she was learning from the people, or characters, in her life. She had just spent a summer backpacking in Europe and the pages of her journal were filled with biographies of the charcters that she met that summer. Some were more influential than others, of course, but she was intentional about learning from even characters that showed up in her story for just a few minutes. I was so impressed by her commitment to learning from living and I was inspired to create a similar journal just for the characters in my own life. Since starting my own characters journal, I have learned more from people than I ever thought possible. I began the journal by listing the main characters that were frequently a part of my days. These included my family members, closest friends, and co-workers that I interacted with often. I wanted to make this list of main characters because sometimes the people we are closest to are the hardest ones to be intentional about learning from. By having a list in the front of my journal I was reminded of them often. My journey of learning from the characters in my life has been simple and yet profound. I take a few minutes at the end of each day to record things I have observed or learned from others. Sometimes I see characteristics in other characters that I want to make a part of my own character. Other times I see things in people that I want to warn myself against ever becoming. Whatever the case, I am careful to observe the world around me for anything I might learn about living better. For example, a few months ago I met a woman that had the loveliest ability to tell engaging stories. I recorded her talent in my characters journal that night with a special note that I want to learn how to tell stories better. One day my father told me a story about his childhood. My characters journal that night told of a newfound respect I had gained for my father by learning more about his life. Some of the best lessons of my life have come from the main characters in my life. I would never have learned or remembered many of these lessons without keeping track of them in a characters journal. Consider starting a journal of the characters that are a part of your story. You'll be glad you did.

A champion s path to achievement

By Kathleen Gage and Lori Giovannoni We design our life with specific goals, plans and actions for achievement. Yet, in a moment all can change. We are then left to ponder the question, “Have you chosen your life path, or has it chosen you?” Even with the best laid plans there comes a time when our greatest achievement is to surrender to that which life has put in front of us. Surrender with a sense of acceptance not defeat. Acceptance of the inevitable often leads us to our most profound achievements, left to discover a purpose that may have been buried deep within our spirit. Like the tides, achievement has an ebb and flow. Our greatest achievements reside in the art of possibility. The possibility that regardless of what circumstances we find ourselves immersed in we maintain our beliefs, we continue to grow, learn and expand as a direct result of the situation. Possibilities, like people, require nurturing and a place to grow. Our minds house all possibilities, but access to them calls for a particular kind of self-love and personal knowledge. Knowing how and when to call forth the possibilities of your day or your life is an art. There are no project plans, goal setting courses or prioritized lists that will teach us to reach into ourselves and elicit the possibilities of our being. This is personal work; the personal work of self-care, both simultaneously powerful and fragile. Possibility must be cultivated until there is a strength that allows it to stand on its own. No matter how much evidence we have that life is full of uncertainty there are those who do all they can to achieve constant certainty. It is the very uncertainty of life that has us love with intensity, live with passion and cherish the moments that may have passed unnoticed if each moment were guaranteed to be followed by the next. It is the uncertainty of life that pushes us to achieve. Uncertainty may well be the catalyst to become our greatest self, achieving that which we otherwise would not have. It is that which allows the ordinary to become extraordinary, the average person a champion in their own right. A champion is one who understands that time is fleeting and life is rich with possibility. A champion is a champion first in their mind and heart long before they are a champion in their sport. We are all champions in the making. All we have to do is believe.