Fear

Yesterday, I talked about the Unknown. Often, we are afraid of the Unknown. But it’s not just the Unknown that inspires fear in our lives.

Fear is a useful emotion. It serves an evolutionary purpose. From a young age, we learn about things that can harm us. Fear attempts to keep us safe.

If you ever put your hand into a pot of boiling water, you feel the pain of doing something BAD. Our brains are amazing in that they record this experience. And they’re going to make you afraid of ever pulling such a stunt again!

For the most part, this works out OK. We may be afraid of fast predators that can easily kill us. Our natural instinct is to run or hide.

Unfortunately, our brains are not so good at distinguishing between things that are DEFINITELY worthy of a fearful response (e.g. we could be killed) and things that are potentially embarrassing or annoying.

I am most interested in the latter.

One of the common fears that people have is speaking in public. This is a fear that we can overcome. Most people are not at risk of dying because they have to share an idea with more than one person.

While it may not get the same attention, I believe that expressing our authentic selves is another fear that is worth facing. This can happen within the context of a personal relationship or on a more public platform.

Expressing who we really are may not change the world.

Yet it might. When we express our true selves, we permit other people to do the same. When we encourage others to face their fears, we get better at facing our own fears.

While I have many fears, I typically don’t let those fears determine my actions.

Be courageous!