Exploring the Edge

Earlier this month I brought 40+ people to the top of a 102-story building in NYC and had them not only climb the stairs on the roof, but also lean out over the side of the building (harnessed in with safety protocols in place, of course). It was a terrifying feeling. Many of you have been on top of skyscrapers, but as soon as we got out onto the roof of the building (through a metal door just like in the movies!), many of us realized this was going to be a lot scarier than our past experiences. You can immediately tell you are way up high. Not that the air is thinner, but the slight wind, the view (!), and the precariousness of every next step. It is an incredibly far way down.

I wasn’t necessarily happy about being out there, but some really freaked out. Some literally started crying.

I didn’t announce this adventure to this group until 18 hours prior. I purposefully didn’t want stories and narratives to limit people’s opportunity to experience this unique adventure, but it was also an exercise in leaning into fear. Everyone has their own fears, stories, self-talk, and narratives they hold tightly onto, and the less time we have to connect to that identity—that version of us—the better. All fear is technically the same in the body, but it comes from a story, a narrative, a belief.

The evening prior, I told them all: Tomorrow evening we will all be enjoying dinner together, celebrating ourselves and what we overcame. Not the physical, but the mental. But first we need to go do it. First we need to face those demons. First we need to do something that for some of you might be really, really hard. Less thinking, more doing.

So off we went in groups of 6. Step by step, we were weighed, measured, and given jumpsuits; all jewelry and anything on us was given up. We were breathalyzed (!), harnessed, clipped, and zip-tied (!) in. Finally, we were safety-checked not twice but four times. We were double-clipped to a steel railing and worked our way step by step up the outside of the building. Incredible views, from a perspective never seen before by any of us. We got to the top of the outside stairs and there it was—the platform. While the views and feeling were incredible, it was by no means relaxing! There we, one by one, placed our feet on the metal edge, leaned back, and slowly ran our hands along the safety harness to eventually let go: arms fully extended out, leaning back—with nothing between us and the pavement 102 floors below. Unbelievable, great, amazing, that was actually fun and exhilarating… But now - we were instructed - let’s all turn around and FACE OUT, looking directly down at that nothingness!!!

In that moment I took a deep breath and looked up. Any fear I had quickly subsided. Despite being in the same position and the fact that there is infinitely more space up than down, the fear was gone. As soon as I looked down, it returned. The mind is a curious thing.

What seemed like hours later, we worked our way back inside.

We hugged each other, and when I looked at some as they came back down through the doorway to the observation platform, some were crying again. Their tears of fear had changed to tears of joy, of accomplishment.

They pointed up to the crazy platform, looking to the top of the building, and said, “I did that! I did it!”

They could not believe what they’d overcome: fear, narrative, limiting self-talk, inexperience. It was a new feeling for them. They all saw that they were stronger and more capable than they believed just an hour earlier. That night at dinner, everyone told stories how we all not only scaled a building and leaned out over the “world,” but also directly changed our narrative, our mindset (the lens through which we view the world). In 24 short hours they grew to being able to say: If I can do that. What else can I do? They will tell this story for years.

That joy that was felt is why I coach. It’s what I want for all of you. There is nothing better in the world than finding out you are more powerful than you think—from seeing it at the top of a skyscraper in NYC to the top of a mountain at 29029. From being near the finish line observing your smile from afar to getting that email about how overjoyed you are about your race result/event/adventure. That’s it. Right there. In a short sentence or two. That is my mission. That is my Why.

Some of you read this newsletter because you are curious about endurance and the mindset shift that comes along with it. Some of you might be trying to put words to that feeling you experience when doing these events. Some of you are at the very beginning of an endurance journey that might feel very overwhelming. Like those adventurers with me on that skyscraper, you might be looking down your own skyscraper and crying at the enormity of what lies ahead.

I want to ask you to take a breath. Don’t look down. Focus on the next day. Then the next week. Consistency over time will allow you to achieve your endurance goals. You aren’t in a hurry. It’s not a question of IF, only WHEN.

And when the mind starts getting in the way of what the body knows to do? Remember, there will come a time when you too will be sitting at dinner—celebrating yourself, realizing that you did that. You did that! And every time you “did that” will prepare you better for the next time the monkey mind gets active.

You’re going to freak out. You will worry and have limiting self-talk. That’s OK. Just get back up and focus on the next day.

The fear, the noise, the nerves, the narrative—none of that matters. All that matters is that you keep going.

I want you to have that moment where you look back at what you’ve done, and you just can’t believe it.

But to get there, I need you to stop looking down. I need you to start looking up.

You can do this. Start this week.

Endeavor Through Life’s Adversity. One adventure at a time…

Thank you for reading,

Coach Chris

Yes, my jumpsuit was for a 12 year old.

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