CONFIDENCE AND CERTAINTY
" THE GREATER DRAGON IS NOT THE EXTERNAL THREAT … OR ANOTHER CHALLENGE . THE REAL DRAGON IS THE SELF-DOUBT WE CARY WITHIN US "
horizon behind it , I was actually above my parachute and it was leading our fast spinning parade rapidly towards Mother Earth .
My first need was to acknowledge that I was not going to be able to solve this problem . This is not as easy as it seems . Having successfully completed over 2,100 jumps without having to resort to my second parachute , it was hard for me to believe I had really encountered a problem I could not solve . I had a natural inclination to assume I could fix this problem as I had all those in the past .
Sound familiar ? It ’ s easy to lapse into denial when confronted with a problem . Until we acknowledge the problem and our possible inability to solve it – or to use the methods we have used in the past – we are not positioned to address the challenge .
Fortunately , the urgency of this situation caused my hard-headed nature to yield much quicker than usual . That decision probably took a second or two .
The next step , having accepted the need to follow a different course than in the past , was to determine the course . Fortunately 15 years of training and practice before every day of jumping took hold .
I looked straight down at the two handles on either side of my chest – one to release me from my malfunctioning canopy and one for deploying my reserve parachute – and realized I needed to quickly get them in my hands . I could not help but notice when I made eye contact with them , as had been ingrained in me during my First Jump Course many years before , that by now the rapid spins had turned me back to earth and there beyond my toes was once again the horizon . This was bad !
Time was of the essence at this point not only because I was now rapidly progressing toward the horse pasture below me , but also because the centrifugal force I was starting to experience would soon make it impossible to get my hands to those two handles .
With my hands now securely on the handles , I was confronted with a bothersome question , “ Which one goes first ?” The wrong order could cause my reserve parachute to deploy into my spinning main parachute which would result in an incurable entanglement .
Fortunately , ingrained training once again took over and I pulled them in the right order . First the handle on the right side which released me from my spinning main parachute followed by the handle on the left side to deploy my reserve parachute .
This brought on a wonderful experience . My malfunctioning black , teal and magenta canopy was replaced with a bright , yellow never before used reserve parachute . What a lovely sight ! And all this by 1,700 feet – plenty of time to spare .
Many years ago , I read a book about the challenges and responsibilities of U . S . Secret Service agents . One of the sad aspects of that profession is that agents who have never had the chance to validate their years of training by responding to a threat to the person they are protecting sometimes struggle severely in retirement . They are faced with not knowing – with certainty – how they would respond when faced with the paramount challenge their career can deliver . For this reason , agents who have faced such a challenge successfully are admired within the culture of the Service .
That Saturday morning , I had the privilege of facing a similar , life-threatening and I now realize life-defining challenge . I faced what Secret Service agents call “ the dragon .”
For all of us the greater dragon is not the external threat , whether it be an assassin ’ s bullet , the unforgiving and fast approaching earth or another significant challenge . The real dragon is the self-doubt we carry within us .
For those few splendid moments after landing safely , I was able to put my foot firmly on the neck of the dragon … and it felt great .
Keep this in mind the next time you are confronted with adversity . On the far side of the experience the adversity presents , there could be a valuble gift – a bolstered confidence and certainty . +
Jim McCormick is the President and Founder of the Research Institute for Risk Intelligence . He has earned fifteen skydiving World Records , was a member of a skydiving expedition to the North Pole and has jumps from over 31,000 feet . He is an MBA , former corporate Chief Operating Officer and author of four books including The Power of Risk , Business Lessons From The Edge , The First- Time Manager and Body Language Sales Secrets .
More information is available at Risks-Institute . com
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