How flexing my mindset cleaned the gutters this weekend

I don't often write personal posts, but to be honest, I'm so pleased with something I've personally achieved using my 'professional tools' I wanted to share.

For a long time, like many, I've had a fear of heights. I know exactly when it started, I had a frightening moment in childhood when someone took a joke too far, it involved being up a height and feeling out of control. Before this point like most children, I'd not contemplated the risks of heights; I had not needed to consider my safety and be cautious of heights.

For many years I'd not thought about a 'fear of heights' I'd rarely been in a situation where I'll need to be at a height, and even if I did I would have passed on the opportunity stating that "it wasn't for me". 

That was until a good friend booked an adventure weekend for us and three other families and us. Oh goodie!

After thanking my good friend 😬 and enquiring about the activities, I found out that most of them were height challenges. I thought about the activities and let my instincts and perceptions run wild of all the things that might happen - then every reason to cancel.

However, this was the first time I'll get to spend some quality time with our friends after the first lockdown - I couldn't cancel.

Much of the work I do is about flexing mindset and behaviour to adapt to our surroundings at work with the ultimate aim of performing in the role and having better working days. It was time to turn my approach to myself in an out of work context.

From a simplified psychological perspective, what was going on in my mind was a high sensitivity to threat. I saw all the risks and none of the opportunity.

So where did I need to flex too?

The reality is I was sensitive to threats that aren't there; these activities are so safe young children were doing them! 

• Firstly I needed to reduce my 'sensitivity to threat', reducing the internal airtime I was giving to these threats as they are not real - I would be safe. I needed to dominate my concerned thoughts with definite, consistent and controlled thoughts.
• Secondly came the 'opportunity for reward', what's the greatest thing I could achieve from doing this? I think my pride was undoubtedly up there, but so also was inspiring my children, not leaving the imprint of 'fear of heights' on them. I needed to be brave, take a risk and be confident in my abilities.

It's easy to write on paper but putting it in place takes more than one attempt - this is the same for work and our personal lives.

The adventure weekend came. I started on my first activity with excitable anticipation. Focusing on containing my mind and being optimistic about the possibilities, I started my climb. I got two thirds up the 32ft pole. I then lost control of my mind and bottled the rest of the climb.

Feeling achieved yet frustrated, I asked to climb again, tried harder to focus my mind, and this time climbed to the top of the pole. After this, I attempted all of the other height activities, feeling my sensitivity to threat slipping away as I got more comfortable each time.

As the kids enjoyed it, when we got home, we booked a session at a climbing wall were my son, and I got to the top of each wall feeling more daring and actually enjoying it.

So, this weekend came the task of cleaning the leaves out the gutters. The house is tall; it's a long way up with no safety harness. But with the same contained mindset, I quietened my threatened sensitive mind and now have free-flowing gutters.

It's a practical personal example that has left me curious, what else can I do when I flex and put my mind to it?

Big thanks @Gemma Currie for booking the weekend, for bringing us together and pushing our boundaries xx