Thoughts on Fears, Skydiving, Perspective Shifting ??

Last month, I found myself leaping (quite literally) into a new kind of adventure—my first skydiving competition. Skydiving is exhilarating, but what I didn’t expect was how much it would reveal about a challenge many of us face: loss aversion.

Picture this: I’m on the ground after a jump, fully focused on repacking my parachute, when a coach turned to me and said, “You’re ready to compete with my team.” I nodded without a second thought. But later, as I reflected, doubt crept in.?

I was new—only 57 jumps in— and I know this might sound like a lot, but trust me, in this sport, it is like I finished learning how to walk. So the pressure of possibly disappointing my team hit hard. What if my skills are not good enough? What if I didn’t meet their expectations? Suddenly, the thrill I experienced skydiving was clouded by the fear of letting others down.

That’s loss aversion at play, the idea that we’re often more impacted by the fear of losing than by the excitement of gaining. Kahneman and Tversky, renowned behavioural scientists, coined this concept with prospect theory, showing how we’re wired to feel losses twice as strongly as equivalent gains. The fear of losing $100, for instance, feels much sharper than the joy of winning $100.

It’s a bias that plays out everywhere, especially in our work. Think of a manager who holds back from green-lighting an innovative project, afraid it might fail and lead to lost resources. Or a team leader who hesitates to present a bold idea for fear of losing credibility if it doesn’t succeed. These aren’t uncommon situations, yet they can subtly stifle innovation, learning, and growth.

For me, reframing the experience helped. A teammate suggested a ‘coffee jump’. Behind this weird name was a fun, light-hearted attempt to reframe a moment that could have been nerve-wracking. Rather than focusing on the performance or more rehearsing, our warm-up jump would be about mimicking drinking coffee altogether while falling off the sky.

It was a reminder that we weren’t just competing, we were sharing the joy of the jump.?

And this small shift allowed me to move past the fear of loss and into the freedom of simply being present.

Creating this kind of mindset in teams is transformative. Here’s how you might bring that into your own environment:

• Embrace “FAIL”: In my workshops, I love introducing the acronym FAIL: First Attempt In Learning. Reminding your team that failure is part of growth helps normalise risk-taking.
• Make it safe: Foster a space where people can voice ideas without fear of judgement. Leaders who encourage open dialogue and experimentation create teams that aren’t afraid to dream big.
• Focus on the “What if?” of success: Rather than fixating on what could go wrong, shift focus to the possibilities that could come from taking a chance.

In the end, my team didn’t exactly top the leaderboard in the State of Origin competition—we came third to last. But I gained something far more valuable: a fresh perspective on risk and decision-making that I’ll carry forward.

I hope this inspires you to reflect on your own experiences with loss aversion and how you might encourage a more daring mindset within your team.

To your success,

Lison xX

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