I walked off the side of a mountain and lived to tell you about it.

This is me, last week at the top of Jackson Hole Ski Resort. I’m not a fan of heights, but somehow my wife, daughter, and I decided to each try paragliding.

When we got there, the host said, “The winds are perfect today. Only 20% of the time do we get to launch from the top of the mountain. It’s the longest ride. It’s the best ride, it’s the best view. You guys are so lucky.”

And yet… no matter how you feel in intellectual terms about the concept of paragliding, the first time you run off the side of a mountain demonstrates the vast difference between thinking about doing something bold vs. actually doing it.

For example, only about 10 minutes elapsed between the time I met the guy on whose skills I was betting my life… and the time my life was actually in his hands.

In between, he was strapping me into the rig and he asked, “Are you nervous? Your legs are wobbling.”

Yes, they were. I’m usually pretty good at keeping myself calm, even when I know something is going to produce anxiety. This stretched the edges of my comfort zone by a good bit, and thus was such a good opportunity to face my fears.

20 minutes after we jumped off the top of the mountain, we landed near-perfectly in a pasture near the base. For my partner, it was just another day in the office, but for me it was a chance to remember the difference between an intellectual concept and taking a true leap of faith.