Living with and working alongside zipline guides has been insightful for me in that I had no idea how rigorous their training is. There is a lot of pressure on them to be flawless in their performance, skill level, timing, and charisma/customer service skills.
Last night, I was talking to a guide who is in training. She told me how she was only permitted to make 3 mistakes or else she'd fail and be sent home to Vermont. Her test was this morning and I am not sure how it well, but what I do know is that I saw fear on her face as she talked about the dreaded number 3. I encouraged her as I prepared dinner for a friend, but I could tell she was still fixated on it when she went back to studying.
How often does this happen to you? Where the fear of failing is at the forefront of your mind, instead of what you are actually attempting to do—succeed, that is?
Is this helpful, beneficial? To be so centered on failing that ultimately, it is not a given, but a surprise when success is achieved?
