Why do people go Coasteering? Some are looking for an ‘adrenalin kick’ from the fear and excitement it can induce, while others simply enjoy experiencing the pleasure of it. Here’s a rundown of some of the common emotions experienced on a Celtic Quest Coasteering adventure.
EXCITEMENT (PLEASURE)
– describes the broad class of mental states that humans and other animals experience as positive, enjoyable, or worth seeking. It includes more specific mental states such as happiness, entertainment, enjoyment, ecstasy, and euphoria. In psychology, the pleasure principle describes pleasure as a positive feedback mechanism, motivating the organism to recreate in the future the situation which it has just found pleasurable. [wiki-link]
You know that feeling of excitement on Christmas morning, just before opening your gifts? You may have no idea what they are or maybe you do but, you’re excited none the less.
Is it? Isn’t it? It IS a Coasteering Activity Voucher…woooohooooo!
Seriously though, excitement and the pleasure of the activity is what makes our clients return year after year.
EXCITEMENT (ANXIETY)
– is an unpleasant state of inner turmoil. It is the subjectively unpleasant feelings of dread over something unlikely to happen, such as the feeling of imminent death. Anxiety is not the same as fear, which is felt about something realistically intimidating or dangerous and is an appropriate response to a perceived threat; anxiety is a feeling of fear, worry, and uneasiness, usually generalized and unfocused as an overreaction to a situation that is only subjectively seen as menacing. [wiki-link]
While Coasteering can be a dangerous activity (after all you are jumping from height etc) most anxiety is bred from a clients imagination. “What if I hit that rock?”….”Which one, the one 20m away? If you could hit that rock, they’ll sign you up for the next olympics as a world champion standing long jumper!”Basically, there’s a lot of irrational worrying over nothing, though it does provide some great excuses as to why a participant ‘can’t’ jump or take a spin in a water feature. Again, not all negative as this anxiety is swiftly transformed into pleasure after breaking through these invisible barriers.
FEAR
– is an emotion induced by a perceived threat which causes entities to quickly pull far away from it and usually hide. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger. In short, fear is the ability to recognize danger leading to an urge to confront it or flee from it (fight-or-flight response). How Fear Works and How to Deal with It? – article by The Babble Out [wiki-link]
Many people fear Coasteering, be that the height of the cliff jumps, swimming in rough water or open water, exploring small places (caves) or even the unknown ‘monsters’ in the sea. It’s a natural reaction to an unfamiliar and threatening environment. This makes it all sound very negative, but it’s totally the opposite. Fear gives us the opportunity to conquer and achieve. Coasteering facilitates this process perfectly. We minimise the real dangers to a manageable level, resulting in most fears being of a perceived risk. It looks really dangerous but in reality is great fun!PRIDE
– is an inwardly directed emotion that refers to a satisfied sense of attachment toward one’s own or another’s choices and actions, or toward a whole group of people, and is a product of praise, independent self-reflection, or a fulfilled feeling of belonging. [wiki-link]
Pride is seen in all forms while Coasteering. Participants are obviously proud of their own achievements but more often we see parents reacting to their childrens performance. Commonly it’s a coasteerer taking that step from height on a cliff jump, but we often have clients with a deep fear of water conquering that fear and thoroughly immersing themselves in the adventure. We also get a number of corporate groups, sharing a sense of pride in their teams achievements as a whole or for an individual within that group.CONFIDENCE
– Confidence is generally described as a state of being certain either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Self-confidence is having confidence in oneself. [wiki-link]
When referring to confidence in a Coasteering environment it’s usually twofold. Firstly, we build a clients confidence in us as their Guides. Our experience and knowledge displayed from the very start of a session, triggers a building sense of confidence in our abilities. As a result, clients progress through the adventure taking on higher and higher jumps or bigger rougher water features.Coasteering is a great confidence building activity. We encourage nervous and inexperienced visitors to join our adventures. Throughout the session clients self-confidence increases, for most this culminates in having the confidence to step from the 10 metre platform into the Blue Lagoon, despite before the session, having been adamant they wouldn’t jump off anything.
TRUST
– One party (trustor) is willing to rely on the actions of another party (trustee); the situation is directed to the future. In addition, the trustor abandons control over the actions performed by the trustee. As a consequence, the trustor is uncertain about the outcome of the other’s actions; he can only develop and evaluate expectations. The uncertainty involves the risk of failure or harm to the trustor if the trustee will not behave as desired. [wiki-link]
Wiki has tied that one up. Unravelled for Coasteering, trust is a two way street. Participants trust in our knowledge and experience to make the right decisions and take the right action, basically not putting them in danger and minimising risk. Throughout the adventure a participants confidence and trust in their Guide grows. Key to our decision making is our confidence and trust in a participants abilities and knowing that they will follow instructions given.HAPPINESS
– is a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. [wiki-link]
Closely related to and as a result of the excitement and pleasure mentioned earlier, happiness translated into the world of Celtic Quest Coasteering can be summarised as follows: fun, silliness, laughter, releasing your inner child, playing in the sea, leaving your inhibitions at home and jumping into the adventure.SURPRISE
– Surprise is a brief mental and physiological state, a startle response experienced in animals and humans as the result of an unexpected event. Surprise can have any valence; that is, it can be neutral/moderate, pleasant, unpleasant, positive, or negative. [wiki-link]
Not surprisingly…sorry couldn’t resist…Coasteering is full of surprises! A participants surprise at their capabilities (I did it!) or how accessible the activity is. Also, visitors tend to underestimate the power of the ocean. Even on a calm day, with little to no waves on the sandy beach, the swell running into the water features can be impressive. Lastly, participants are always surprised at the fact that they aren’t cold. The Celtic Sea can be pretty chilly but the kit and equipment supplied keeps you toasty warm.COURAGE
– is the ability and willingness to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Physical courage is courage in the face of physical pain, hardship, death, or threat of death. [wiki-link]
It almost goes without saying that in order to go Coasteering you need to be pretty courageous. Celtic Quest tailor our adventures to suit all abilities and we’ve seen courage in all-sorts of situations. It could be someone that’s never been in the sea to someone jumping 10m from a cliff. Having the courage to try at your own level is essential.HUMILITY
– is variously seen as the act or posture of lowering one self in relation to others, or conversely, having a clear perspective, and therefore respect, for one’s place in context. [wiki-link]
We are often humbled by the achievements and determination of our clients. Where there’s a will, we’ll find a way! Anyone over 8 years of age can try Coasteering at their own level. Tailoring our adventures to suit all abilities enables us to take out participants of varying physical ability including people with disability. We’ve had a number of people join in our adventures who would not normally participate in this type of activity due to perceived physical limitations.AMUSEMENT
– is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations, and is associated with enjoyment, happiness, laughter and pleasure. [wiki-link]
Hmmmmm, where do I start! Coasteering is just plain good fun. But don’t take my word for it…“Made the whole experience fun, crazy, safe and very laid back as if it should just be natural to climb up huge cliffs and jump off into the ocean. Rated 10 out of 10 for ease, enthusiasm and straight forward pure fun.” Welsheeee_13
“Most fun I’ve had in sea with my clothes on..!!. You start laughing and only stop for another adrenaline fixed leap along the way. Been back again already…!!. You won’t meet a more professional, enthusiastic and entertaining bunch anywhere..!!” Bucket-list-Chris
CONTENTMENT
– is the acknowledgement and satisfaction of reaching capacity. The level of capacity reached may be sought after, expected, desired, or simply predetermined as the level in which provides contentment. [wiki-link]
This is another two fold emotion. Firstly the feeling of contentment when returning to the beach carpark after the adventure. I suppose it’s also a sense of accomplishment and pride in ones achievement. The Celtic Quest Coasteering team are at home playing in the sea. If we spend time away from it, it’s definitely a feeling of contentment to get back out there. Waking every morning with a warm fuzzy feeling about going to work…priceless! 😀