There is a flipped side to everything.
Take your stance, and you can turn your world upside down.

There is an alluring way to words, but truth be told: They are a flimsy affair. Because, as much as we like to hang on to them, words can be easily replaced, as a simple matter of perspective. Except that sometimes, by just flipping one word, an entire world of meaning is turned upside down. 

Where some only see a “challenge”, others - those who do not stop at it, but instead actively choose to step up and take a chance with it - see an “opportunity”. 

In retrospect, what else is “success” if not a “challenge” turned upside down, and at last defied? 

With fears and excitement, it is the same. Where some only see “fear”, and freeze, others catch a sparkle of “excitement”, and, instead of taking a step back, take a leap forward.

Because fears and excitement are flipped sides of the same coin.

I remember taking my SUP for the first time on a river, just out the outskirts of Munich. Used to the soothing calm and glassy waters of a lake, while gliding with my SUP along its shores at a leisurely pace lost in meditative contemplation, navigating on the ruff current of a fast twisting river is a wholly different experience. 

Forget standing up, as the word SUP (for “stand-up-paddle”) suggests. For me, it was either sitting down and holding on to my life, while steering away from the ruff river’s edges with its protruding tree branches and other “treacherous” hazards - or tragically drowning. 

Drawn by the flow of my own dramatic forebodings, and trying to avoid an imminent death, I was certainly not enjoying the experience. Then all of a sudden I was struck - luckily not by one of those ominous protruding branches, but by a simple thought: 

Magic happens when your Faith is bigger than your Fear.

That was indeed a catching quote that had stayed with me; something I read and dutifully highlighted from one of my favorite books of all times: You're a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life from the iconic Jen Sincero.  

And that particular quote was aptly resurfacing in my memory exactly while I was resurfacing from the water - ultimately after losing balance and falling from my SUP at one of those challenging turns. As it turned out, that little splash did not end up in me tragically drawing - just in me unceremoniously getting wet and swimming after my SUP, which had decided to be adventurous and continue the journey without me. 

And, as I turned the switch in my thoughts, that was actually fun!

The “gripping fear” that just moments ago had me frozen into straight “survival mode” - while frantically trying to avoid all obstacles on the way and sucking all the fun out of my SUP’s river adventure - as if suddenly exposed to the light of the sun, melted away into “playful excitement”. 

Few things in life beat the thrilling pleasure of actually _feeling_ alive, after at least momentarily losing balance, and with it the illusion of being the one in full control. 

Feeling “thrilled” and being “terrified” are just two sides of the same coin.

Isn’t it _refreshing_ to just surrender to the moment and let go of all resistance, from time to time? That was pointedly what I was thinking as I was indeed having my own, unwilling “refreshing” moment in the ever-chilly waters of the Isar river, just before regaining at least control of my SUP, with my partner enjoying a good laugh - not knowing he was just about to experience his own “refreshment” himself!

We ended up having a memorable first-time-SUP-river-adventure, which eventually got more and more embellished through our own colorful recounts of that day. 

From that time onwards, every time I spot my own fear while undertaking something new, I remind myself of it:

Fear is just the flipped side of excitement.
Which side you toss the coin, and get to experience your own adventure, is up to you.

The “trick” is to remember that you are not alone. We are all part of something much bigger than us. There is more at play than our own little fearful ego, which invariably gets us grasping towards a false sense of control. And there is so much pleasure and lightness in just letting go, and simply surrendering to the moment. 

Realize that the present you are living in is exactly that - A present.

Trusting the moment and going with the flow, instead of fighting against it to be where (our little ego thinks) we _have to_ be, will lead us to the most unexpected places.

Years later, as many more unexpected events in my life had unfolded, and ended up doing a 200-hours yoga teacher training in the mountains of Thailand, on day-one we were all asked to turn up “our card”, as we were all taking place in a circle, around an “altar” of beautifully placed flowers and lit candles, as the sun was setting down on an infinite landscape of rice fields. My card was reading:

When I lean toward Love, I am led.

And then it struck me. We so often lose sight of things as we make everything so complicated. While it is really that simple - as the truth always is:

Whatever we do is either determined by Fear, or by Love. 

On the one hand, when you are scared, you try to resist change, and retrieve back. On the other hand, when you love, you embrace everything, and take a leap forward. 

• Fear makes you feel small and defenseless. 
• Love makes you big and powerful. 

Ask yourself this: 

How many times have your behavior or choices been led by fear, rather than love? 

Speaking for myself, if I look at it with candor, I can recognize way too many occasions where I acted out of fear, instead of love. 

• On the one hand, every time I resist change and try to “cushion” myself, for instance by saying “no” or complaining about something, it is mostly because I do not feel “safe”, or well at ease with a particular situation. And every time I am sad or down, it is really because I feel powerless, out of options.
• On the other hand, all my best (and certainly my most memorable) moments go hand in hand with me trusting whatever comes my way, and deciding to take a leap of faith and go with the flow, even (and especially) if the direction is taking me is not what I had been anticipating.

As if sensing my feelings, on the very last day of the same yoga teacher training, during our closing ceremony, we were all again asked to draw a card. Mine was reading: 

I recognize that I have chosen Fear - And I choose again. I choose Love.

Choose Love instead of Fear - And be led away from the Shadows, towards the Light.

This takes some practice, and needs your constant vigilance. Anytime you spot yourself holding back because acting out of fear, challenge it. Take a closer look:

• Is your fear manifesting in an induced reaction, and keeping you from something you might actually enjoy, or making you grow? 
• Or is your fear coming from a deeper place, as when you are having a really bad gut feeling? 

This does not mean throwing all precautions to the wind. There is a subtle distinction, but an important one:

• On the one hand, honor your gut feeling, as it is how your intuition communicates with you. 
• On the other hand, be ready to challenge your preconceived reactions, as it might just be your ego holding you back.

In fact, as I woke up before anybody else this morning, while on a camping trip with my little family, I was thinking about how to complete this very chapter (I mostly write while my husband is driving and my baby is sleeping in between destinations). As today was my last day in Altea, a charming little town on the Spanish coast near a natural reserve, I decided to apply its lesson to myself right away: Why not go for an early run all by myself till the lighthouse? 

To the casual observer, this might not seem like such a big deal. But to me it was - because I did not know the place, which would lead me through this possibly isolated natural reserve. And I am actually _terrified_ of ever running into straw dogs - running after me! 

It is not an entirely irrational fear, because dogs, as very intuitive animals, can actually sense when one is scared - and they definitely would not miss that in me, with my skyrocketing heartbeat. However, I have to admit that the chances of such an unfortunate encounter were rather slim. After all, I was not crossing a treacherous wasteland, but a well-maintained park at the outskirts of a well-off residential neighborhood - and (commending the Spanish people!) most dog owners I crossed till then were very considerate and kept their dogs on leash.

Well, isn’t that a case in point to test my own message then? So off I went for my early morning run, all by myself - dogs beware! And as to “reward” my act of bravery already, as I was jogging outside the campsite, one of the befriended workers there greeted me with a jolly: “Vamos” - which is a Spanish encouragement loosely translating as: Let’s go. Have fun! 

I am glad to report that I _safely_ made the 10km to the lighthouse and back to the campsite. No straw dogs, only friendly joggers and passers-by. Indeed that seems to be a very popular route - and rightly so, as it offers a breathtaking view over the whole coast and nearby mountains. It was like the Universe was smiling at me and rewarding me with such a beautiful start into the day, in perfect tune with nature. 

It then occurred to me that I just found the perfect leave-away message to end this chapter. For each time you get out of your comfort zone and try something new: 

It is not the mountain (big wave - or, name your favorite challenge!) you conquer - But yourselves.