It’s the nastiest part of the uncovering process.
Fear. The deep roots are suffocating yet comforting at the same time.
It’s the feeling that keeps you locked in place, benignly disguised as keeping your best interests intact. “You’re lucky, others would be thrilled to have what you have now,” or “It could be worse, count your blessings,” or “I’ve already invested so much already” – even the soundest advice can be used for the wrong means. It’s like a little stooped grandma smiling toothlessly at you, offering you a plate of cookies she’s secretly poisoned.
Whenever the status quo is threatened, fear gets us to react defensively, even abrasively. We often can’t distinguish between what’s real vs perceived danger, envisioning perils in our minds to such length that we might as well be writing our own action packed drama with villains, thefts, freak car accidents and torrential earthquakes.
Stagnancy is the worst outcome. When we are scared in the midst of ambiguity, we stick to what we do know, even if we dislike or disagree with it. The known evil is sadly often preferred over than the unknown due to the most people’s preference for control and predictability.
Yet the lack of knowing, the emptiness, can also be seen as the opportunity and possibility. Of course, it’s hard to rewire our brains to see it that way since we’ve been conditioned by nature and nurture to stick with the proven conventional routes. If you want to accomplish remarkable goals, create the your perfect lifestyle, company, design a new product or do something different than the normal options available – achieving these results usually requires action in the face of risk and uncertainty.
So, you’re looking at the change required. And you’re considering all the unknowns and risks that come along with it.
And you’re scared.
It’s okay and normal to feel this way. Fear doesn’t go away, even when you confront it and proceed forward anyway.
Eventually though, the more you confront the fear, the effect on you starts to loosen. Through widening your comfort zone, expanding your horizons, trying new things, the area of discomfort and unknown simply becomes an addition to your life, a new standard to measure against, an easier feat for next time.
So put yourself out there. Experience and try new things even if you have some doubts on how it will go. Have the confidence you will figure it out and at worst learn from it. Do the thing that’s in the back of your mind. The thing you’ve been putting off and avoiding.
Uncovering the roots of fear, holding you back from creating or doing the things in life you really want, is a hard and necessary part of success. Freeing yourself comes with responsibility – it’s often a long and emotional process to get there for most people. When you’re ready enough, you’ll know and it will be one of the best actions you can do for yourself in your life.
