This last weekend, I was given the opportunity to go on a zipline course again, and while I know I’ve written about ziplines before, I thought I would share some observations which I think are relevant to some of the recent experiences we’ve all gone through together.

As I started the course, I could feel the return of fond memories of the last time I had such an experience come rushing to the top of my mind. I was happy to recall how the course starts with relatively easy obstacles, which are close to the ground, and with each successive obstacle the challenges became harder and higher. What happens is that as you overcome each obstacle, you end up building more confidence and assurance that you’re not going to fall, and that the ropes, harness, cables and pulleys are going to keep you safe.

What I found a bit surprising was the level of fear that I felt. After all, I had done the course before, and knew what to expect as well as all the details regarding the safety mechanisms in place to keep me out of harm’s way. When I got to the last section, which was the highest part of the course, with the most difficult challenges, I was surprised at how tired I was…and how fatigued my muscles were…and in some cases, that I had muscles that I had somehow forgotten existed (although even now, I’m kindly reminded about them with each move I make).

Standing on top of the last and highest platform, I started to think about how high the platform was, as well as how terrifying it was going to be stepping off and depending on the rope, harness, cable and pulleys to carry me safely across the obstacle. I did not recall that fear before, although I’m sure it was there.

The more I thought about this, the more it bothered me. Knowing what I faced, having experienced it before…why would I feel the fear I was feeling? The answer, of course, is in all the additional details. The fatigue was surely due to using muscles I do not typically use or depend on. My confidence then called into question whether I was physically able to hold myself…should all other components fail. At the beginning of the course, without the fatigue and exhaustion, my confidence level was much higher. And while with each experience, my confidence increased…the other effect was that with each experience, I also became more tired and in need of rest.

While I’m happy to say that I was able to complete the course, and safely glide to the finish line…the experience caused me to think about our work and the challenges we have faced, continue to face, and will face in the future.

Even though we may feel like we’ve done this before, or that the obstacle is something we’ve dealt with many times, I would encourage each of you to think about the other details in our life both personal and professional…to ensure there aren’t factors which could influence or negatively impact our ability to overcome challenges.

The last few months have been rather challenging, both physically, intellectually and emotionally and I’m sure there may be some fatigue which has set in…which we may or may not be able to notice. Please take a moment to think about those things in your life and work…and be thoughtful of those around you…as they too may have other factors influencing them in ways they may not notice.

While we still have more challenges to overcome, I need everyone operating at their optimum and in order to do that, I need to ensure everyone has had enough rest…whether physical, emotional or intellectual…rest is important to ensure we have the endurance we all need to be successful in all that we’re doing.