The new lesson in an old memory about snakes

As a friend was telling me about her grandson not wanting to touch a big snake it brought back the memory of the reptile show I attended in Florida when I was 11. They were teaching us about alligators and crocodiles; showing us how you can clamp a mouth shut but never be able to resist the crushing force of a close, and how you can put one to sleep by running your hands down it's belly (running them against the scales wakes them up and puts them in an ugly mood!).

Then they brought out a boa constrictor. They asked for 3 volunteers from the audience and a ton of kids raised their hands - but I was the only girl. Being the only girl, of course I got chosen. I went down to the stage with no idea what I was going to be asked to do but I was excited about it anyway. Next thing I new I had this boa constrictor hanging around my neck and in that moment I was just grateful my mom didn't rush the stage yelling at these people for putting a boa constrictor around her child's neck:)

As I think about it now I have to admit I cringe at the idea of putting that snake, or any snake, around my neck. But then I had no fear. I had spent time handling garden snakes and new what that was like. I trusted the experts around me to make sure I didn't get strangled, and quite frankly it wasn't an enormous snake (big enough, but not 7 feet long).

I think these ideas apply to any of our fears. Handle garden snakes first (start small and safe). Trust the experts around you (get a coach, mastermind group or other experts and listen to them). Remember the snake isn't 7 feet long (it probably isn't as big a deal as you think it is). Then relax, have fun, and make sure someone takes pictures!