The Roller Coaster Principle

After a lifetime of Frontier City, Silver Dollar City, and Six Flags, the roller coasters at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio were the largest and scariest I had ever seen. The tallest I had ever ventured to ride was the tallest coaster available at Six Flags: the Titan, 245 feet tall, 85 mph. The tallest coaster at Cedar Point, Top Thrill Dragster, stood at an appalling 420 feet tall, with a top speed of 120 mph!  

The top of the coaster was in the clouds. It hit 120 mph in four seconds and had a 90-degree drop. (No, thank you.) I will tell you up front that I did not ride that one. It’s one thing to be adventurous, and quite another to be completely out of your mind. I’m still questioning the mental capabilities of my family members who did ride it.

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

James 1:17 NLT

I always believe, within reason, that every situation offers something to learn from the Lord. If I’m stuck behind slow drivers and can’t get around them, instead of getting angry and frustrated like I used to, I go with it. Sometimes I will even say out loud, “I’m not mad at you. Do what you have to do.” 

Maybe there’s a reason for me to slow down right now. Maybe there’s a police car parked up ahead… maybe they are keeping me from getting into a wreck… or maybe they really are just slow for no reason. Only God knows.  I just need to calm down and be patient.

In that same vein, I learned a very important life principle from riding roller coasters.  Well, from overcoming my fear of riding roller coasters… and of heights… and of a painful, gruesome death (to be honest).  I call it my Roller Coaster Principle. 

When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your comforts delight my soul.

Psalm 94:19.

So much of our trouble in life comes from the way we think about things. Overthinking. Mulling it over. Chewing the cud. We often think things to death until we see every possible outcome, both positive and negative… both true and imaginary. We can overthink ourselves into a corner of inactivity out of sheer terror of getting it wrong… and absolute fear of negative outcomes… never moving to the left or to the right. 

If we could just get out of our own way, we would be able to do so many more things in life, and with so much more joy!  You’ve probably heard the old quote, change your thinking, change your life. That is absolutely true! Joyce Meyer’s book, the Battlefield of the Mind, was one that I read and studied and reread and studied again in the battle to change my own life, and it was highly effective!  Life can get twisted up in our mind, will, and emotions… so we need to think about what we’re thinking about.

THE ROLLER COASTER PRINCIPLE

It took some convincing to get me in line to ride the Titan at Six Flags Over Texas for the very first time. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it… I was a ball of fear and anxiety. At that time of life, I was learning to overcome those emotions with the Word of God, but in those moments of waiting to board this ride, I wasn’t thinking spiritual thoughts. I was internally freaking out.

During the hour-long walk to the platform with my husband and younger son, I negatively focused on the height and speed of the ride, and openly repeated my fear over and over while standing in line. I mentioned getting out of line, I talked about quitting this ride altogether. I just didn’t think I could do it! 

By the time I was only a few people away from getting on the ride, all my negativity came to fruition. I apologetically removed myself from the line and headed for the waiting area.  I just couldn’t do it… like I said. 

An expert overthinker at the time, I felt like a failure. Every bit of self-condemnation I could muster came to the surface of my thoughts. I felt like such a weakling. What kind of example was I setting for my three children? 

By the time my husband returned to the waiting area, I fully regretted my decision not to ride the roller coaster. I shared my thoughts and he kindly and graciously offered to ride with me if I wanted to try again. The Roller Coaster Principle came to life in that moment, “I’m not going to think about it, I’m just going to DO it!”

Here are the steps: 

1. Make a plan to accomplish your goal. “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance…” Proverbs 21:5.  I would wait in line again, but this time I would change my attitude, set myself up for success, and then get on the ride.  Simple as that.
   
2. Distract your mind. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” Romans 12:2. The second time around, I did not allow myself to think about the roller coaster.  I didn’t look at it, I didn’t talk about it. Every time it came to mind, I changed the subject, both mentally and physically. Any thought about the coaster would just get twisted by the fear of negative outcomes, and become an open door for repeated failure. No, thank you.  I’m not doing that this time.
   
3. Shut the gate of your mouth. “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” Psalm 141:3. I didn’t stop talking. Talking helped me distract my mind. But I did put this normal prayer of mine into practice… “Lord, put your hand over my mouth like a gate, that I might speak Your words and pray Your prayers.”  I did not allow myself to speak fear and negativity.  I did not allow myself to speak about quitting or failure. I decided to believe I could accomplish this goal, so the only thing I allowed myself to say about it was, “I’m not going to think about it. I’m just going to do it.”   
   
4. Keep moving forward until it’s done. “Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.” Proverbs 4:25-26. One hour in, I got onto the ride, sat down, and put on my seatbelt. It was done, the cars were moving. There was no turning back now. When we turned the first curve and I stared into the face of that first 245-foot hill, I did have a mini panic attack and thought I might cry. My life flashed before my eyes for a brief second… and then I renewed my commitment to the principle. We’re just getting started.
   • I will not negatively focus on this first big hill. This is the hill that will bring me to my goal. Instead, I will focus on what is lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). I will celebrate the sunshine, the summer air, and the beautiful view until we get to the top. We’re already almost done.
     
   • I will not fear the first big drop. Once we make it over this hill, the ride is basically over. I can endure the first drop because I know we are racing to the finish line!

I successfully finished the ride the second time around, and CELEBRATED! I then went on to conquer the next fear, and the next fear because I knew I could do it with God’s help, and with the Roller Coaster Principle.

When you know what is right to do, just between you and God, it gives you confidence to set out and accomplish that thing. I’ve used the principle at the beginning of new seasons to overcome fear and put one foot in front of the other. I used the principle as I stepped out to serve in new ways in my church. I am using the principle even now, as I continue my journey of becoming a certified Biblical counselor.

I held tightly to the principle once again when I rode the Millennium Force roller coaster at Cedar Point. At one time, it was the tallest and fastest giga-coaster in the world. The first one of its kind! Standing at 310 feet tall, with a top speed of 93 mph, it was the best ride of my life… and I rode it twice, with no fear! This principle really works!

“Life is like a roller coaster, with all its ups and downs. You can either scream or enjoy the ride.” 

I remember often that this is my one life, and I want to live it well.  I don’t want to get to the end of my life fully exhausted with nothing to show for it, surrounded by piles of regret.  I want to take chances and put myself out there in any way the Lord may lead… but I’ve not always been able to do that.

In my early life, I had the natural ability to overthink things to death and stress myself out to exhaustion with worries and heavy burdens.  I was super hard on myself, so I was always trying to “get it right,” but never could. That’s where I lived my life for many decades… but that’s not where I’m living today, thank God.   

With His help, I have fought hard and trained my way out of many of my natural negatives. Not perfectly, mind you… I still have fears to conquer, I still have thoughts and words to silence, I still have much to learn.  I will always be a work-in-progress, you can bet on that.  But little by little, principle upon principle, the Lord has helped me to check things off of His to-do list of fearful strongholds in my life so that I can finally live a peaceful and joy-filled existence.  I thank God for that.