Before entering base jumping, Joe spent time meditating on worst-case outcomes—broken legs, spinal injuries, wheelchair, death. Not to be morbid, but to “see through” each consequence and discover whether meaning could exist on the other side. He found it could: “I feel like I’d want to be the person who’d continue doing something. I feel like I could continue to find meaning.”
This seeing-through is not the same as dismissing risk. It’s allowing the full weight of possible outcomes to move through the body so that none of them hold paralyzing power. The purpose isn’t to become reckless—it’s to explore life “feeling unconstricted and unconstrained.”
Joe extends this to physical practice: standing on a cliff, he visualizes failure—throwing the wrong rotation, failing to outfly a ledge, the last moment before impact. By letting these possibilities integrate somatically, his body becomes prepared. If something goes awry mid-jump, “my body knows what to do” because it’s already rehearsed the full range of outcomes.
“Seeing through that negative outcome, seeing through that consequence, and being like, well, if that happened, what would be left? Would I be somebody who just gives up? And it’s like, well, I feel like I’d want to be the person who’d continue doing something.”
Related Concepts
- Feel the false end to dissolve overwhelm
- Fear creates binary thinking and false ends
- Pre-grieving loss creates resilience
- Feel the fear fully to see the opportunities in chaos
- The pursuit of safety can disconnect you from reality