5 Ways to Overcome Your Fear For Skydiving

Even if you don’t have acrophobia (fear of heights), you will still be overwhelmed with the fact that you are jumping off a plane! Sounds crazy? Certainly!!! I used to think skydiving is an activity for the commandos or military personnel! It’s not something for ordinary people like me to do. Well, I beg to differ now, because I can proudly say that I finally got the courage to do it! 🙂 To jump or not to jump? Just do it? Easy as it sounds, but it was quite impossible for me at that time. I believe everyone has your own struggle before going for the biggest plunge in your life! What I can guarantee you is, this will DEFINITELY, hands down, heads down & legs down be a LIFE CHANGING & EXHILARATING EXPERIENCE for you! 🙂

 

So how did I overcome my fear for this crazy or absurd activity? Here are my personal suggestions just before you swipe your credit card at the counter and sign that indemnity form! haha I’m sorry to frighten you with my words… alright I will refrain myself from frightening you further. haha 🙂

Number 1: Just Do It!

Unless you are one of the richest man in the world. Skydiving is NOT a cheap activity. For that 7 minutes (1 minute free fall)  14,000feet plunge experience, I paid approximately AUD530 (USD500) with Gold Coast Skydive! Of course, it comes with photos and videos, preying on the basic human need for reliving the moment! haha Don’t get me wrong, it’s totally worth it to get the bundle for photos and videos! 🙂

 

Anyway, I arrived Gold Coast via an overnight flight from Singapore. I was not feeling well, but then I knew that the airport house the most number of skydiving companies. Hence, I approached a counter and merely asked for it. The Gold Coast Airport customer service was great, she told me usually it requires booking and I was fortunate as there is an available slot as someone had backed out. She was holding the phone and was looking straight at me and said “So do you want me to proceed with the booking and you GO RIGHT NOW!!!”. My initial intention was just to check it out, but back of my mind was thinking “what’s the odds for me to drop off my backpack in the hostel at Surfer Paradise and then come back to the airport for the skydive?” Probably not… so I went ahead with it and just swiped my credit card on the spot! That’s it! I nailed my own fate! haha Yes! I paid for it… no chance for backing out! haha So this is my first strategy for doing sky diving! Just BOOK IT! 🙂

Number 2: Have someone who is encouraging OR just be POSITIVE!

 

This is important! It’s critical to have someone with you who is encouraging. On the flip side, if you have someone who is a wet blanket or discouraging, I suggest you stay away from them while you are going through this high adrenaline experience! As usual, I was traveling solo in Australia and therefore, I had no one to do skydiving together. So in any case, if you are doing skydiving by yourself, while you are going through the briefing; dressing up the suit; and waiting for the plane etc… you gotta learn to distract yourself and keep thinking how awesome it will be! Some tips for ya:

• Think about what you are going to say when you call your family and love ones.
• Think about how awesome the photos and videos are going to look.
• Think of what creative poses you want to do.
• Think about how you are going to post on your social media and share with your friends.
• Keep reminding yourself to smile at the video and camera while plunging down at rocket speed.

Keep focusing on the outcome and you will be fine. 🙂

Number 3: Trust the Skydiving Instructor

Go ahead and have a chat with the instructor. Build a rapport with him/her and it will help ease your nervousness. Keep telling yourself that your instructor has done it MILLION times! haha (well, maybe i exaggerate a bit) Anyway, you can tell yourself whatever you need to make you trust your instructor!

 

Well, I have to admit. My instructor Max Manow from Germany, was a nice chap! He and the rest of the staff were shocked when they knew I just arrived from Singapore. Literally dragging my luggage to do my skydiving. When I asked him how safe will I be with him? He replied “We will survive!” haha good ambiguous answer, straight to the point and no expectation given! haha Imagine you know nuts about your instructor. Can be a little tricky! haha So, do talk to them and TRUST them! You will be in good hands. 🙂

Number 4: Relax and Keep Calm

Ok, easy as it sounds! BUT you just have to keep reminding yourself. This is VERY IMPORTANT! Imagine you have a panic attack and you struggled during the skydiving, it can be really disastrous. You may endanger yourself and also your instructor’s life!

 

Generally, just keep calm and enjoy the flight to reach a certain altitude (for my case, 14,000 feet). To be honest, i was really quiet because there were so many “what if” in my mind. This is the moment just before your biggest plunge in your life, so just keep calm, enjoy the flight view and try to attain nirvana if possible! haha

 

Flying Higher Altitude

Number 5: Follow Instructions & ENJOY

Please follow the instructions by your instructor carefully! Your instructor will gives you a heads up, i.e. when to put your legs out, how you do your drill and when is he going to open up his parachute etc… If you simple ignore these instructions, you could hurt yourself or in worse scenario, hurt your instructor! (Well, I rather be the one to pass out than my instructor haha) Such incidence doesn’t mean it will be game over though, there is a Automatic Activation Device (AAD) system, so your parachute will still be deployed automatically at a certain air pressure and specific height above the ground. So you are still pretty safe, just probably flying around the area a little more. LOL

 

Skydiving is not as dangerous as it sounds. There were millions of successful skydiver and thousands of skydiving companies in the world for a reason! This would be your very first free fall experience, so do treasure it and remember to enjoy it! I can guarantee you will regret not smiling at the video and camera. You gotta get this, it’s your call and it’s your precious 1 minute free fall! Don’t let this once in a lifetime experience slip away just like that.

 

The general experience (for me) is this: Your instructor will open up the door at a certain height, the cold air will gushes in, and you can hear the airplane engine and propeller. This experience was overwhelming for me! But, at the same time, I was absolutely captivated by the clouds and the beautiful views underneath than anything else. To be honest, the engine did freaked me out a little… When he did the countdown 3, 2, 1… I almost passed out, literally!!! haha Neah, I was scared silly, but it wasn’t that bad! The fast, cold wind in your face, the super loud roared of the airplane’s engine, the wind blowing at a great force (200 mph), and lastly, the matter of fact that I was pushed out of an airplane, literally! Makes a rush of blood to my brain! LOL

 

But please do RELAX, RELAX and RELAX! The free fall is the BEST of the BEST part of the entire adrenaline rush experience, and perhaps the best feeling in your entire life! It feels like I’m flying high up in the sky, and i didn’t feel the “heart dropping” sensation like in a roller coaster, probably because of the air pressure and air friction plus the gravitational pull.

 

 

 

 

To be frank, I was a little more nervous after my instructor opened up the parachute after a minute of free fall! You will see your legs dangling above the city and everything looks like “sim city” to me! Cars were soooo tiny looking like a toys, people were like figurines and building were like legos! haha At this moment, just relax and enjoy the view as much as possible. Breathe in more air if you can, cause your experience is going to end in approximately in 5-6 minutes time! haha

 

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS! You touched the ground and you have CONQUERED your biggest CHALLENGE, HURDLE, FEAR, ACHIEVEMENT, or EXPERIENCE EVER! You will tell yourself… SkyDiving? It was nothing and peanuts! haha… You will laugh when you sleep for the next few days, you will be swamped with envious messages from your love ones and you will be SUPER PROUD of yourself, like achieving a milestone! Don’t you think you deserve a little celebration or a pat at the back? haha

 

 

Yes, that’s it! Skydiving is as simple as that. You can do it too! 🙂 Have you try sky diving before? If you have, please comment below and share with me your experience! Hope you enjoyed this post of the 5 ways to overcome your fear for skydiving! 🙂

My Skydiving Experience Video! 🙂

Got bored of daily routine and need some refreshment? Take a break, pack your bags, and fly to Australia! Australia, the 6th largest country by land area, is one of the skydiving destinations in the world and a unique place to create lifetime memories. Australia travel blogs will let you know about the exotic flora and fauna, the places where you can do scuba diving, snorkeling, cruises, sailing & water tours, winery tours, etc. A trip to Australia will definitely give you an exhilarating and life-changing experience.

“In a world in which we are all slaves to the laws of gravity, I’m proud to be counted as one of them freedom fighters. Skydive!” – M. Melberg