I’ve been practicing yoga for the past 10 years, but I’ve only started mastering ‘ninja poses’, as my husband calls them, over the past 2 years. Why? Because for the first 8 years of practice, I was held back by the question – “What if I fall?”

Two weeks ago I had an interesting experience which highlighted my mindset shift. I was trying to replicate my instructor’s move of jumping from a downward-dog pose into a crow pose and the same question popped up in my head – “What if I fall?”. This time, my response was – “How bad can it really be?”

Well, I fell on my face and had a pretty chunky bruise on my cheek. Was it worth it? Absolutely – I learnt from it and it strengthened my belief that falling isn’t all that bad. Sometimes we fear so much the worst-case scenario to the extent that it prevents us from pursuing fulfilling activities. But the worst-case scenario isn’t always as bad as we tell ourselves.

A quote to keep in mind

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

– J.K. Rowling

How to overcome our fear of falling

What is your fear of falling holding you back from pursuing?

In my practice as a coach, I encourage the inspiring entrepreneurs and startup leaders who I work with to experience that worst-case scenario with the help of their imagination prior to making a decision. In most cases they realise that they are well-equipped to deal with that scenario and that it shouldn’t be holding them back.

Here’s a creative visualisation exercise that you may wish to try on your own:

Find a comfortable seat. Close your eyes. Imagine that you’ve made the decision to pursue the activity that you wanted to for so long.

Now imagine that your worst-case scenario comes true. What actually happens? How does this make you feel? Describe it in detail.

Now imagine taking a deep breath and telling yourself that you’re equipped to deal with this challenge. What do you do next – how do you act in order to overcome this challenge? How does acting on it feel? Describe it in detail.

Having lived through your worst-case scenario – is it really that bad to be holding you back?