Why Are People Afraid of Heights?

If you look on Wikipedia it is called Acrophobia, “and is an extreme or irrational fear or phobia of heights, especially when one is not particularly high up. It belongs to a category of specific phobias, called space and motion discomfort, that share both similar causes and options for treatment.”

When I was around 6 years old I remember staying with my great uncle Victor and my great grandmother while my brother and sister were at school. We lived in the country and our house was just across the road from theirs so I almost always stayed with them.

On this specific day my Uncle Victor had gotten out the ladder and was on top of the house fixing something. I’m not sure what it was. But that’s just what he did.

Being the curious kid that I was, I saw this big tall ladder that went up to the roof and I decided that I wanted to help. I climb right up the steps and jumped on the roof without any thought.

Then, all of sudden I looked back and realized how high I was. For a few quick seconds I was horrified. How was I supposed to get down? Then out of nowhere, I felt this strong guiding hand holding me steady and guiding me back to the ladder steps. Of course this was uncle Victor. He got on the ladder first, and then he helped me climb on with me between him and the ladder. And in just a few seconds, we had descended all the way back to the ground.

When we got on the ground you would think that he might have said something to me…you know, those things that adults often say to kids that really can have a negative impact.

• What were you thinking?
• Why did you do that?
• You can’t do that?
• Who do you think you are?
• You could have gotten hurt!
• Don’t ever do that again!

But uncle Victor wasn’t like that. He never said a word about it. I think he knew that I realized how foolish my decision had been and he didn’t need to address it anymore.

Over the next 10–15 years, every time there was a ladder to climb, a roof to be mended, or a new barn to be built, Victor would hold onto the ladder and let me climb up. And, the older I got, the higher the ladder went. So much so that I would almost run up the ladder and up to the tip top of a new barn with no fear of anything.

This was all before the days of safety harnesses. And be sure that OSHA didn’t come to the farm to make sure we were following the rules.

The real key is that I knew he had me. If he was holding the ladder, I had nothing to worry about. And I didn’t think twice about going a few extra steps higher.

If a person wants to accomplish something incredible, something to take them to new heights, they are going to need someone to help, “hold the ladder” so that they can stretch and reach for that next level of success.

For many of us when we are young we are willing to listen, take advice and seek help from others to learn, so that we can do more. But as we get older, a gap starts to form and we start to become stagnant. We don’t stretch anymore. We don’t seek help. We just become content.

To reach a higher level, we have to think differently.

A few years ago I was talking with a friend about being involved with a group of coaches and having a mentor to help me in my personal and professional growth. They asked why do you need a coach or a mentor?

You see, when this happened, I was doing really well. I had a great family, a great job and everything seemed to be on track.

But I realized that I wanted to do more. I wanted to do something that was bigger than me. I wanted to do something that would give me a chance to impact far more people. I guess you could say that I wanted to make a difference.

And, I had no idea how to do this.

I needed someone to coach and guide me. I needed someone to hold the ladder.

So when I tell this story I have two questions that I like to ask.

1. Who in your life has held the ladder for you or maybe is holding the ladder today?

When you think of this person, I encourage you to take a little time to call and thank them for holding the ladder. Let them know how much it meant to you and how much it impacted your life.

The next question I think is even more important for us all as we grow into leaders.

2. Who…who are you holding the ladder for? Who are you helping? Who are you coaching? Who are you helping to find their way? Who are you providing guidance and giving a good example to?

So if you have a fear of heights as in acrophobia, or maybe a fear of climbing to the next level in something else…take time to see who can help hold the ladder, and make sure you are returning the favor for someone else.

See more like this on my blog at: https://www.geoffreylove.com/blog