Letting Go #3: Fear
Posted on March 30, 2009
What have YOU got to be afraid of?
Me, I feel pretty secure – at least compared to my distant ancestors. The odds of me being eaten by a lion, or attacked and killed by the neighbouring tribe are (despite what the media would have you believe), almost vanishingly slim.
Feeling of fear are like feelings of pain, discomfort, hunger or tiredness. They should be acknowledged, and conciously evaluated. You have the best computer in the world between your ears, there’s no reason to be controlled by the most primitive parts of it.
Initially, pain is your body’s warning system. It’s your body’s way of telling your brain “This feels like it might start doing damage soon!”, and your brain wants to react to that, to stop the pain before whatever is happening becomes damage. Similarly, fear is your mind warning you that something has potential to go wrong, that something might be happening that could cause unpleasantness, something you want to avoid.
Fear can also lead you to make bad decisions. Fear of someone’s reactions leads us to lie, or conceal the truth. Fear of failure can prevent us from starting. Fear of falling might stop us from climbing.
That’s not to say you should ignore your fears – as I said above, consciously evaluate what’s causing them, and use your brain to decide your reaction to that circumstance. Use the fear, let it help you notice things, but don’t let it control you.
You’re smarter than that, right?
[image by la7mad]
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