Fear

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Fear is a powerful force that protects humans by helping us avoid dangerous situations. Our fears have helped humanity survive. Today, many of the dangers that fear helped us to avoid, like being eaten by a predatory animal, no longer exist.

The result is that instead of helping us survive, our fears now prevent us from taking action that allows ourselves to grow. Since we learn best from experience, when we avoid things due to our fears, we eliminate growth opportunities for ourselves.

Olympic Champion Sanya Richards-Ross has said “Life can lure us into this fantasy. A fantasy of fear. We look around and begin to fear we aren’t good enough for the right here and right now, so we create illusions in our minds of what we still need to be — when all we need to be is present in this moment, at this time.”  

3 ways to consider fear this week.

1. Don’t worry about failure: Instead of fearing failure, get out of your comfort zone. If you’re not failing regularly then you are not pushing hard enough. Focus on being present in the moment like Sanya suggests instead of wallowing in a fantasy of self-created fear.

2. Increase awareness of what scares you: Search to understand what drives your fears. Consider ways to expose yourself to that. Even if it seems small, increasing awareness of your fears and seeking them out will build confidence by proving that you are capable of facing scary things.

3. We’re rarely in danger: Fear helps us if we’re in danger, but these days that is rarely the case. Understand that conserving energy or avoiding a fear is a natural response that has helped humans survive in the past, but is no longer necessary to our survival. If we are not in danger, our fears only rob us of memorable experiences and valuable learning opportunities.

Thanks for reading. Let’s have a great week!