Travels at speeds up to 66 miles an hour, a vertical drop of 15 stories, five inversions including a barrel roll, corkscrew, and high-speed spiral…yes, it did all that. This is the description of the roller coaster I rode while on vacation. I didn’t ride it willingly, at first anyway. Ominous stories of people being hurt on amusement park rides exacerbated my emotions. The emotions became barriers to having fun. What if it falls off the track? What if I get stuck? What if I fall out? I was encouraged by other members of my family with words such as “it will be fun” and “you have to try it.” OK. I did it. It scared me…a lot. But after I rode it I noticed that some of the other thrill rides that previously seemed scary, didn’t seem quite so bad anymore. In fact, I was more willing to ride the other thrill rides once I had ridden the “worst one.”

This roller coaster experience reminded me of some leadership advice I received years ago from a mentor. “Do something every day that scares you.” While I don’t believe their advice was about roller coasters, the roller coaster did represent the barriers that often stand between a leader and achievement of their goals. Those barriers exacerbate the challenges. What if I fail? What if I am wrong? What if others don’t buy-in? What if I make a bad decision? What if others criticize me? Just like the roller coaster was for me, similar barriers to the pursuit of professional goals can be scary, intimidating, and limiting. Most of them driven by the emotions generated in the stories we tell ourselves, not reality.

What are the barriers that stand in the way of achieving your goals today? Are they real or created by emotional stories? How can you change that? What roller coasters do you need to ride? What barriers do you need to overcome? To achieve true success in a leadership role, one must move beyond the comfort zones and challenge oneself. Once you do, you may discover that just like my roller coaster experience, the other thrill rides (barriers) may not seem so daunting. In fact, it may increase your forward momentum and multiply your success. So, what will you do today that scares you?

Remember, leadership is not about what happens to you, but it is about how YOU choose to respond.