Many Singaporeans heard about the daredevil yet inspiring man named Philippe Petit. Philippe is a Frenchman who dared to cross the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center in 1974. The man dreamt of crossing the twin towers without a net. He made sure that his dreams will become reality.

He strolled on a wire and up to this day, no man challenged him. We can get to know him more once we see The Walk starring Joseph Gordon Levitt. It will be screened here in Singapore soon enough.

Petit struck us because he is not afraid of heights. We are afraid of heights and it really affects our life. Here are some tips so we can overcome our fear of heights:

• What is the likelihood of actual harm? They say that our fear is only in the mind. If we fear something, it creates an illusion that whatever we do will likely to cause us harm. However, we have to know that there is a slight chance of inflicting actual harm if we set our mind to it. We have to remember that phobia is defined as an “irrational” fear.

• Relax: Perhaps that next best thing that we can do is to relax. We resolved that the likelihood of walking to 50^th floor unscathed is high so we have to relax before our mind dictates how our body should react – increased sweating, heightened blood pressure and the likes.

• Remove caffeine: We might not know this but caffeine may contribute to the anxiety we feel. If we can abstain from caffeine, the better. If not, we should at least limit it.

These are just simple but if the fear is deeply rooted, interventions should be considered.