How often does your fear of falling get in your way of doing something? Does it deter you from learning to ski or from climbing a ladder? Does it plague you when you fly on a plane? Think of all the things you could accomplish if you weren't afraid to fall.

I recently (and I say this meaning literally a week ago) picked up skiing. I am 22 years old and have never in my life even watched someone ski yet I decided that I was going to conquer this sport. When I traveled to Black Jack Mountain in Wisconsin and put on my skis I could have easily quit when I fell just trying to walk up the hill and got nowhere. I could have quit when I tried to carve down the bunny hill and fell every time I tried to make a turn. And two hours in, I could have quit when I had fallen so many times my bruises had bruises and my bones were aching, but I was still ever-vigilant and ever-determined to at least make it down the hill once without falling. After a couple of more falls and some bad words thrown at those trying to teach me, I successfully made it down the bunny hill and all those falls were forgotten. A week later, I traveled to Cascade Mountain in Wisconsin and made it down not just the green trails but also a blue. I'm so proud of myself and even though I'm still a work in progress and I still continue to fall, I'm far better than what I was a week ago when I had never done it before.

While I was on the mountain, though, I was frustrated, not at myself, but at how good kids half my age were. And it wasn't one or two kids who were really good, but almost all of them were flying past me down the hill and it started to make me think, "why are they so much better?" Well, obviously they have probably been skiing for a long time, but still, as a kid, I feel that I wouldn't even begin to venture down some of these hills with how steep they are. I looked up at the mountain when I first arrived and almost left because it was so intimidating. Then I realized, when we're young, we don't fear falling. We don't fear getting hurt. These little kids were conquering this seemingly terrifying sport because they learned to conquer it while they weren't plagued with ideas of pain and injury, and they didn't let the possibility they might fall cause any hesitation in learning to have proper form and balance.

Think really hard about all the things you do in your everyday life. Is there anything that's dangerous or might be scary to others? Rock climbing? Swimming? What about driving a car? These are all pretty dangerous activities but a lot of people do them and don't think anything about it because they've been doing it since they were too small to know how dangerous they could be.

Just think of what all you could do if you didn't let the fear of falling, literally or symbolically, get in your way. If you cleared your mind of the fear that the one plane you just happen to be on will fall from the sky, think of where you could travel. Maybe Rome, Paris, Shanghai, or even Antarctica. If you freed yourself from the fear that you might "fall" from trying to learn a new skill or trade, you might discover a hidden talent, so don't be afraid to fall on your butt sometimes. It might hurt at first, but if you get back up, and keep trying, you might realize that the fall really wasn't that bad, and all the bruises were worth it.