Between middle and high school, I went to summer camp, where there was a ropes course. I remember how scary it was to jump from the 60 foot platform, even knowi

Between middle and high school, I went to summer camp, where there was a ropes course. I remember how scary it was to jump from the 60 foot platform, even knowing that the zipline harness would catch me. It was an experience of being very scared, but pushing through the fear, and then getting the instant reward of how much fun it is to whoosh through the air and accomplish something difficult. Though probably less scary than skydiving, it is still considerably scarier than most things people ever encounter in everyday life. And you can't quietly shy away from it, either, the way you often can from social situations or intimidating opportunities or novelty in real life; you're standing there on the platform, everyone is watching and cheering you on; and success is binary-- either you jump, or you are shamefully lowered back down to the ground (which is still probably not much less scary anyway). I didn't think of that experience of being very important, but it occurred to me recently that many people have never had that experience-- of being very scared, but pushing through it. It resets your baseline for fear, and it shows you what you are capable of. It is, I think, important training for the skill of managing any strong emotion, but particularly fear. It is a kind of experience I think everyone should have in their life, ideally early on.