Fear
Fear.
Fear is an interesting device. For some of us, it drives and motivates us. For others, it paralyzes us. For others, it excites us.
What is fear?
Fear is one thing: The awareness, acknowledgement and desire to move away from unwanted consequences.
When a moment of fear comes up for us, we have responses of biological (fight or flight instincts), physiological (tension, increased heart rate, etc), and psychological (negative emotions) natures. These responses often seem to occur all at once and in some degree or another.
Because we have all of these responses that come up, it can be confusing to unravel and get to the source of a specific fear. If our heart rate increases quickly, that physiological response may trigger a psychological response so quickly that we’re not sure which came first; the two are virtually inseparable. When this happens repeatedly, we can actually unconsciously learn to reverse the process and trigger the physiological response with the psychological cause.
How do you begin the process of unwinding this process, getting to the true cause, and uprooting fears?
For me, I’ve found that when fear comes up, if I can remind myself what the nature of fear is – the awareness, acknowledgement and desire to move away from unwanted consequences – that there’s simply an unwanted consequence that’s presented itself. I remind myself that my psychology, physiology and biology are separate processes.
After repeatedly and deliberately practicing this process – Fear happens, I acknowledge it, I separate myself from the process – the amount of fear in my life has significantly reduced. Now, when something does come up, it’s more of a fascination rather than a series of internal responses that grip my entire being. I simply acknowledge that I’m in a situation where I need to increase my knowledge, capabilities or awareness, do so, then continue moving forward.
Perhaps, for some of us, fear is also a tool for pointing us in the direction of areas to improve ourselves.