My father often said that during WWII the only pilots the aircraft crews were really worried about flying with were the ones who were never afraid…
He was trying to teach his young children a very significant life lesson:
It is human and important to allow yourself to experience fear!
Unfortunately, “Don’t be afraid!” is a constant mantra during our upbringing.
Why?
Why shouldn’t we be afraid of trying something new? New things are by definition scary!
Learning to ride a bike? Scary!
Jumping into a swimming pool? Scary!
Getting onto a big horse? Scary!
Singing in front of an audience? Scary!
And doesn’t it really make sense to be afraid of the dark?
A famous actor once said that the only performances he knew he’d bomb were the ones when he felt no stage fright…
The more we accept fear as just another in our range of emotions, the more we can use the physiological changes that come with it to our advantage!
Fear is one of the very human emotions that takes us from here to there…
TOMORROW: TRANSFORMING FEAR...
TOMORROW: TRANSFORMING FEAR...
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I find it compelling that fear, at least for me, is both rational and irrational. Just this morning I was thinking, literally, "if only I wasn't so afraid, think how much I could accomplish." Thanks for your words, Carol.
ReplyDeleteJT
It seems to me that sometimes negative emotions often accompany the work necessary to make positive real world accomplishments, much like the situation described by the actor above.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, I notice that I really only make a concerted effort to lose weight and get in shape when I feel really badly about myself. On the one hand, it's never good to feel bad about yourself, but on the other hand, avoiding the negative thoughts only tends to propel me down a path I don't want to tread.
Similarly, I've had auditions where I've tried to psych myself up and overcome any fear with pure adrenaline, and it seems to me that these auditions never go well. I feel like cranking up the intensity is like turning up the volume on a stereo; it's very loud and hard to discern any nuance.
In short, I think avoiding negative emotions can be just as disruptive to real-life accomplishments.
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