fear facing success

I finally got my first taste in a good while of a free weekend this past weekend (I will eventually update you on my life for the past 5 months but for now lets concentrate on the recent past). I decided to try to catch up on some sleep Friday night so I got up at a decent hour Saturday to go for a hike.

I decided on Percy Warner Park since it's only a couple of miles from my house. Woke up. Packed my bag. Hopped in my car and guess who was on the radio? Carole. It happened to be "Tapestry" which is definitely a song you don't hear much on the radio now (and probably didn't back when it was released), but man, is it a pretty song. I instantly knew it was going to be great day.

Turns out there was some kind of track meeting going on at Steeplechase and the parks so there was a bit of traffic, but I managed to find a parking spot near my starting point and headed into wilderness.

Well I got to within about five feet of the trail entrance, was about to take a step, looked down, and what did I see but a decent sized snake right in front of me. Holy shiitake mushrooms.

I jumped. Turned around. Started walking back to my car. Paused. Turned back around. Saw no signs of the snake. And thought to myself a nice little three step sequence:

1. You are not going to let your fear ruin a good time (positive reinforcement)
   
2. What are the odds you see another snake? (statistical reinforcement)
3. It's more scared of you than you are of it (superiority reinforcement)

So I marched back to the woods, and I'll be honest with you. I wasn't even thinking about snakes when I met my first uphill challenge.


2 hours, some jogging, and a near fall that led me about 20 ft off the trail that but an end to my jogging for awhile...I made it to this.

Totally worth it.