KBs

KBs

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Use your Fear

If you say you don't have fear in your life, you are a liar. Fear is perhaps the most basic and primal of human emotions. It is felt and expressed in all kinds of ways throughout our lives, from near misses in traffic to runs ins with wild animals. Fear steers us away from harm. It keeps us focused on dangerous tasks. Without fear, the human race would have died long ago because we didn't know to avoid lions and bears.

So what does this have to do with getting better, you ask? Good question. It seems that most of us let fear guide our actions without ever really being acknowledged. Our fear controls us instead of us controlling our fear. I propose that we become the masters of our fear. This starts by acknowledging things that scare us and then facing those things. If you fear heights, go sky diving. If dogs scare you, find a friend with a friendly dog and hang out with said dog. If the idea of letting your teenage child get behind the wheel is terrifying, take them to a high performance driving school and give them skill and confidence as a driver.

Once we start owning our fears, we realize that they aren't crippling. They are valid, rational fears. Heights can be dangerous, but you are more likely to die in a car crash driving to the drop zone than on the actual skydive. Wild or rabid dogs (or wolves) can also do serious harm. But bad dogs are few and far between. Also, dogs can "smell" or sense fear. So be cool and most dogs will do the same. And you should be worried about putting your kids behind the wheel. The road can be a dangerous place, but making sure that young drivers are prepared for anything behind the wheel can alleviate some of your worries.

So whatever scares you, figure it out and face it. You will be amazed how much confidence you gain.

Jack

PS - I spent the last few days jumping out of planes. This evokes fear in me no matter how many times I do it but it is not negative, debilitating fear. Instead, it is an awareness that I am doing something risky that requires 100% focus. If my pulse didn't quicken before jumping out at twelve thousand feet, then I would be scared.
Maybe don't play with this dog. . .

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