False Expectations Appearing Real

Recently, I had an experience that scared the crapola out of me. I thought my life was in danger. And there was no real need to experience that FEAR (aka false expectations appearing real)!

Here’s what happened, and why it is so relevant for us in business, and life.

As most people know, I’ve set myself a big goal to climb Mount Larcom as many times as possible. I’m aiming for 50, and although I’m working hard on it, I may not quite make that. So far, I am up to 12 for the year. It is a gruelling 3.3-kilometre climb, that takes around 1.15 hours to get up and a little less to come down. I usually start climbing at crazy o’clock, somewhere between 3 am and 4 am. But when you have big goals, like I do, you do what’s needed.

On my last climb, I was walking along the trail, it was pitch black, with the only light coming from my headlamp. And apart from the toads croaking and the leaves rustling, there was very little noise or action. Until, suddenly, and unexpectedly, I looked up and saw a human in front of me. Sitting on a rock, on his phone. No headlamp, pitch black, just sitting there. He scared the heck out of me.

“I don’t see people here at this time of the day,” he said. I replied, “me either.” As I kept walking… Nearly running by this stage.

Just imagine. Pitch black. Out in the middle of the bush, half an hour out of town. And only two humans on the mountain. One of those humans now walking like he was being chased... Which I wasn’t. But my mind went into overdrive and my heart was thumping out of my chest, seriously. Wondering where he would bury my body. Every noise I heard, I thought was him coming up behind me. I kept stopping to look back, straining my eyes to see if I could see him coming. I remembered the stories about backpackers being murdered and tried to remember what the survivors did to get away from their attackers.

Seriously next level freaking out! A fear I have not experienced probably forever.

I continued my climb, and as I was coming back down the mountain, I saw this card that was left on a pile of rocks that said, “You are Saved”. I doubled down on the fear levels. I was saved from what… being dumped on a mountain, never to be found or heard from again.

And, you know what – I kept thinking that if I’d seen that human earlier on my climb, I might have turned around and not proceeded up the mountain that day.

But here’s the thing. I know that the human I saw was just doing his thing. He wasn’t there to harm me, or anyone else. He probably didn’t even leave that card on the rocks. And when I got home and told my family I was lucky to be alive, and showed them the photo, it turns out the card said, “You are Loved”.

I had worked myself into a dither that morning. I was so scared. All that fear was totally unjustified. There was nothing to fear. It was my imagination. False Expectations Appearing Real. And to think that I might have turned back just because there was another human on a mountain early in the morning.

This experience has sat with me a lot since it happened. It's left me wondering how much we have let fear stop us from doing something, let fear stop us from acting.

How many times have we turned around instead of tackling a challenge head-on? How many times have we focused on what might go wrong instead of what might go right? How many times have we created expectations that were imagined?

Too many, would be my answer to the questions above.

So, the message is to turn FEARs into PEARs – positive expectations appearing real. Imagine how good it will be to get to the top of your next mountain climb! And how much better that will feel!!!

Are you ready to take action?

Have you had an experience or have fear that is holding you back from taking action in your current role?

Book in your free 15 minute review with Anton to talk through your fear and help you tackle that challenge without hesitation. Click here to book now!

About Anton

Leaders struggle with their mental health, too... Often finding it difficult to lead under pressure.

Anton is an entrepreneur, speaker, consultant, bestselling author and founder of The Guinea Group. Over the past 15 years, with over 150+ global organisations, he has inspired workplace leadership, safety, and cultural change. He’s achieved this by combining his corporate expertise, education (Bachelor of Psychology), and infectious energy.

Get in touch with Anton today.