{"id":14032,"date":"2018-08-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-29T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/flashpack.preview.uk.com\/2018\/08\/30\/leave-your-comfort-zone-how-to-face-fear-by-ed-stafford\/"},"modified":"2023-04-06T14:27:44","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T13:27:44","slug":"how-to-face-fear-ed-stafford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/solo\/travel\/how-to-face-fear-ed-stafford\/","title":{"rendered":"Leave your comfort zone: how to face fear, by Ed Stafford"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hailed as \u201ctruly extraordinary\u201d by Sir Ranulph Fiennes and \u201cBritain\u2019s most intrepid hero since Scott of the Antarctic\u201d\u00a0<\/a>, adventurer Ed Stafford hit the record books after becoming the first man to walk the Amazon. The deadly journey took two and half years and, now a Discovery Channel documentary, ignited a career in solo adventure.\u00a0Ed continues to travel and film all over the world, surviving in some of the most hostile environments on earth, for TV shows Naked and Marooned and Left For Dead to his upcoming series First Man Out.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is Ed Stafford\u2019s Flash Pack column, written once a month from somewhere remote and halfway across the planet. Probably. Over to Ed now, enjoy the read\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BfvJO-iD0bh\/?hl=en&taken-by=ed_stafford<\/p>\n

Feel the fear and do it anyway. Break free of your comfort zone. Push your limits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As the mega-bestseller by Susan Jeffers suggests \u2013 there is a magic in fronting up to things that scare you and holding your own hand through the experience. I\u2019ve never read her book of course \u2013 like many of these American self-help books the title is kinda useful \u2013 but that\u2019s enough for me, no need to actually open it.<\/p>\n

I’ve been in some hairy situations over the years, travelling all over the world<\/a>. I\u2019ve had guns and arrows prodded at my chest. I\u2019ve been locked inside a UN compound in Afghanistan whilst the frenzied rioting mob outside decided to set it on fire.<\/p>\n

I feel like I know fear quite well.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BhJ56nODNUU\/?hl=en&taken-by=ed_stafford<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m not mentioning these incidents for bragging rights. Rather, I\u2019ve become fascinated in the psychology of fear: how to deal with it, how to use it, and even how going through this whole process makes you grow into a wiser and more experienced person.<\/p>\n

As a result, I\u2019ve decided to write this month\u2019s column on exactly that \u2013 drawing upon my experiences to give you 10 solid tips to face fear. This is all about breaking free of your comfort zone and pushing yourself to experience new things, something you might do a lot on a Flash Pack trip.<\/p>\n

Hopefully these tips help \u2013 perhaps even when you’re staring down a 3,500ft abseil<\/a> and wondering whether to take the leap of faith…<\/p>\n

Tip One: re-brand fear as excitement<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whilst I was going through infantry officer training on the Platoon Commander\u2019s Battle Course, we would all be put in \u201ccommand positions\u201d to put us in the spotlight and test our abilities to lead teams of soldiers in stressful situations.<\/p>\n

The directing staff would then assess whether you were performing well \u2013 and if you weren\u2019t \u2013 you would get \u201cback-termed\u201d, a horrendous situation akin to being held back a year at school for being stupid. Not good.<\/p>\n

I would be terrified as we lined up that I would be selected as the platoon commander or the platoon sergeant. Keeping my head down in the role of a private soldier was much, much easier. But on one such occasion when the plump captain flipped open his notebook and read out, \u201cPlatoon Commander is\u2026 Officer Cadet Stafford\u201d, the fear that I already held inside convulsed through me to the point of handicap.<\/p>\n

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#throwback to my training team and I at ATR Lichfield in 2002. I was the Platoon Commader here (on the right with his hands in his pockets)! (Ignore the flash slash ) #military #lichfield #commander #army #team #throwbackthursday #tbt<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Ed Stafford<\/a> (@ed_stafford) on