Photo: Vasyl Hnyp
What a powerful word. Fear causes us so much discomfort. We’re uneasy. We can sometimes feel sick. It’s a really “not fun” feeling in that moment we’re experiencing it. You put yourself in that situation where you’re approaching your boss to ask for that raise. That place where you’re walking over to your crush to finally say those first words. You’re about to give a presentation to 100 people for the first time. Your stomach is in knots. Your heart rate is through the roof. Your legs are shaking. But you pushed through that fear and came out on the other side. What do you feel now? Accomplished. Excitement. RELIEF. Happiness. You get all the good feels!
Our minds don’t like it when we place ourselves in situations that create discomfort. In fact, there are defense mechanisms all up in there, trying to do everything to make us NOT experience discomfort and fear. A lot of this has to do with the negative feelings (anxiety, sadness, anger, etc.) that you’ve or someone close to you have experienced before in a similar situation. Your mind is like, “No, no, no; we’re not going there again. Let me do something to make you not want to go through that. We like comfort in here.” What that does is keep us in that box. That box created through our experiences, and don’t get me wrong, that box was created for a reason. In no way, shape or form, am I saying put yourself in harm’s way, but if we take a step back from our emotional discomfort and can view what we’re looking at more objectively, most times we see that fear is what’s holding us back from achievement.
If I go talk to my “crush” what’s the worst thing that will happen? Maybe he/she/they think I’m a total weirdo and never talks to me again. What would happen if I don’t talk to him/her/they? I could be depriving myself from a lifetime of happiness with someone that I truly love. It’s a decision that you have to make for yourself.
Personally, this is a big reason I rock climb. Every time I’m on a climb no matter how easy or hard, there’s a sense of fear. Sometimes it’s very subtle and sometimes it’s more pronounced. And although there are some dangers to climbing, it’s a very safe sport. Almost 100% of the time, when I experience that fear on a climb, it’s something that my mind has created, which to me is an opportunity to push through fear and come out on top.
So I challenge you to do something today that creates some fear or discomfort, and push through that. See how you feel before, during and on the other side of the experience, and remind yourself of these feelings next time you cross paths with fear.