Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway

ADRENALINE!

Mountain biking is my feel the fear and do it anyway sport. I get that maybe some of you more adventurous, daring single track, rock climbing, slack lining, Phish and Dead all night for a week folks are rolling your eyes about now… but hear me out.

And for you non-adrenaline folks, hang in there because this story is going to get brain science-y and coach-y so you get real time tools to take away and play with today regardless of sport!

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For me, mountain biking is edgy. The speed is unsettling. Trails twist and turn and logs have fallen where they shouldn’t. At any point a branch can slap you in the face or a bramble can tear at your shin. There are so many unknown variables like rocks and gravel and hills that I can’t account for the same way I do with trail running or backpacking.

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I’m no adventure slouch lol, but damn is mountain biking scary!

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As if all that wasn’t enough -get ready for the super embarrassing truth- for some reason I can never keep straight which side has the front brake and which is back. I’m constantly second guessing, forgetting and straight effing it up.

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I’ve gone over the handlebars (as a full grown adult, like two years ago) because I braked too hard with the front brake… literally the front wheel of the bike comes to an abrupt stop while I, still in motion, go head over heels over handlebars and road rash myself.

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(I tried to put a gif here for fun, but they were all too painful!)

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Luckily I wasn’t going very fast, so it was more like a slow cartoon wreck than a high speed motorcycle disaster. I scraped an elbow and a hand and I cried a little (shock lol) but overall I was ok… Pride shattered, but ok.

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It also needs to be said I was trying to take a selfie video while bike riding because I was feeling so good and confident and this is what we do now, right?

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I’d like to say I learned my lesson… but as this reel proves, (you really need the sound on!) I’ve just gotten more cautious with my selfie biking.

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I digress… I can hear you all shouting, “so why the hell are you doing this torturous sport anyway Ruby?”

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Well, because I also LOVE it! Like really truly having soooo much fun out on a trail. I love just the right amount of adrenaline and thrill and power!

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You know that expansive feeling of being on a bike, the wind in your hair and floating along (on the easy flat parts)… it just feels so good. I love to feel the power of my legs and my body exerting at their fullest, pushing me up hills, getting me places!

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I think bike riding is as close as I can get to fulfilling my dream of flying like a bird through the forest. It’s exhilarating and exhausting and still really scary.

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But let’s back up a little bit.

Feel the fear and do it anyway!
This is a popular quote… it’s meant to motivate, push boundaries and get you outside of your comfort zone… and sometimes all that is GREAT.

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And sometimes, it’s not great. At all.

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Pushing ourselves too far outside of our comfort zones, too far past the fear we risk serious consequences.

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We can light up old trauma, cause long-term dysregulation of our nervous systems with a massive fight or flight stress push, it can cause a panic attack or severe anxiety, deplete our stores of energy and ultimately we could really hurt ourselves or someone else..

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When I talk about “feel the fear and do it anyway“ I don’t mean push yourself past your safe limits, dance with danger, or ignore your gut feelings telling you nooooo!

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Listen to all that!

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Fear is a powerful survival mechanism! When it’s ignored, it often leads to trouble, danger and even worse scenarios. (I’ll deep dive into this next time on Part 2 of Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway!)

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But, we can sometimes mistake fear for anticipation, eagerness, excitement, discomfort, passion and exhilaration… Those are different.

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Often expanding, embracing, or just tip-toeing beyond the edges of our comfort zone is where we can get really lit up, grow and find/create more confidence, agency, joy and creativity!

Certainty (the known) is great, but uncertainty (the unknown) can also be great.

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Sometimes feeling the fear means being with (paying attention to or listening to) the discomfort long enough to identify if this is a true instinct protection FEAR (what I call shark vibe) or if it’s a little fear from being outside your familiarity… your zone of comfort or confidence.

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In this context, Do it anyway translates to either, how can I do this in a way that feels a little bit safer for me? Or acknowledging that it’s the good kind of fear that you want to expose yourself to… taking a deep breath and going for it.

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For me that’s mountain biking, it’s a little fear, it’s scary, it’’s not a billion years of instincts bearing down on me yelling STOP!!!

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So I adjust every time I go out… flexing where I can build more confidence and being ok with looking dorky and going slower than anyone else out there down a steep hill.

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I don’t push myself the way I do when I’m doing a HIIT workout or trail running or working my VO2 max. When I'm mountain biking I'm already outside my comfort zone, this is not the time to push.

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For me with mountain biking feeling the fear and doing it anyway is going slowly in any scary parts, it’s saying affirmations when I’m going downhill, not taking myself too seriously, laughing as much as possible. Iit’s pausing occasionally to do some EFT tapping if my anxiety starts to get too fired up. It’s taking breaks and celebrating when I make it through challenging sections. It means stopping when I notice my heart rate going up way too high (fear), or if I feel too much tension in my body because my hands and shoulders are clinched so hard and doing some longer exhaling breathing to regulate my nervous system and send the signals to my brain that says even though this is scary and challenging I’m having a good time and this is a good safe place to be.

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It’s not sexy, but it means I get to do something I love and take care of my mental health at the same time.

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So feel the fear and do it anyway, but do it in a way that still feels good to you, to your nervous system and to your mental health.

• go to sleep early after a taxing adventure
• drink plenty of water and add electrolytes or a pinch of salt
• stop and breathe -inhale through the nose for the count of 3 and exhale for the count of 6, repeat 3-5 times
• meditate before or after (here are 4 to choose from)
• take it easy and be okay playing safe
  laugh
• celebrate milestones even if they are small
• try sloshing when you are done to reset your nervous system
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At the end of the day, when we’re loading the bikes back up and my legs feel like they are made out of jello and all I can think about is a giant plate of nachos, I’m all smiles, ear to ear and so proud and pumped that I did it!

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And, if you are feeling *just the right amount of fear* and doing it anyway while taking care of yourself, I'm pretty certain you will feel so pumped too!

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That’s a good sign that you’re headed in the right direction of fear... Joy at the end.

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Now I’d LOVE to know… what’s your feel the fear and do it anyway???

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Or… have you ever gone over the handlebars?! Seriously, am I alone here?

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If you’ve got some fears holding you back from doing the things you love, I’d LOVE to work with you! I’m offering shorter focused sessions where we will blend working with your conscious and unconscious mind to rapidly reprogram and rewire how you want to be feeling, what you want to be doing and how you want to do it. 

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It’s fun work, promise! No story necessary. No digging up the past. More info and you can sign up here, it only takes a minute.

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So much love,

❤️ Ruby (and Star)