Fear and confidence

In a reflection for the NYT, Olympic freeskier Eileen Gu describes fear in three parts—excitement, uncertainty, and pressure—and locates success at the edge of fear and confidence.

Her outlook reminds me of cave diver Jill Heinerth, who says that fear is part of every expedition. Heinerth’s suggestion for managing fear is to be prepared and focus your mind on the next step.

Jian Ghomeshi: Are you ever afraid, getting ready for one of your expeditions?
Jill Heinerth: Oh, every time. You have to take a certain amount of fear with you. But if we don’t embrace fear in our lives and do something that’s a little uncomfortable, then we don’t ever progress into something that’s new. You can be running from fear your whole life, or you can embrace new challenges.
JG: How do you embrace fear? What do you tell yourself? How do you do that?
JH: I try to visualize all the things that could go wrong and rehearse and prepare myself as much as possible. Then if something happens that is frightening in the moment, I try and tuck away the emotions and be pragmatic and just make the next step forwards towards survival and success on a mission.
—Interview with Jill Heinerth, by Jian Gomeshi (CBC radio)