Fear not

There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them. -Andre Gide

 

It is interesting to me how we “grow out” of some fears in life, and find ourselves “growing into” new fears. As a small child, I remember being absolutely TERRIFIED of fires. At some point in kindergarten or first grade, the fire fighters in tiny little Elkhorn, WI came out to Tibbets Elementary and talked about the importance of fire safety. I went home and was devastated when we did not have a fire safety route, and my parents quickly sprung to action and talked about our fire escape options, and our safe meeting place outside. Because my room was on the second floor, I was convinced that a fire would occur outside my door, trapping me in my room and forcing me to jump out of my window and would undoubtedly meet my fate on the blacktop below. I would cry before bed every night, and while I wanted my room open so I could see my parents’ bedroom, I knew it needed to be closed as a fire barrier.

I’m not quite sure how or when I outgrew this fear, but needless to say, I haven’t thought about fires for many nights, and certainly haven’t lost sleep over them for years. Similarly, as a child, I remember NEVER meeting a stranger. I would wander around stores (much to my parents’ dismay) and strike up conversations with anybody, could play in the sandbox and make friends instantaneously, and never really understood stranger danger.

Not to be feared--pate. 
It is nasty, but I had the courage to try it.
  Similar to cat food, for those who were curious.

How is it possible that we go from being scared of boogey monsters, the dark, and fires, and moving to into fear of making new friends, trying new things, and fear of failure—or even success? Somehow in our lives, we are reprogrammed to fear many irrational things. For myself, I know that fear has really controlled my life in many ways. I have found, though, that by taking on small fears, I have grown confidence that has given me the courage to take on medium fears, and even big fears.

What are you scared of? Leaving your job for a better one? Commitment? Heights? Being alone? Being in a relationship? Success? Failure? What others will think? Rejection? Let’s build upon yesterday’s topic—an object in motion stays in motion—think about something in your life that you were fearful to tackle and chose to do so. What happened when you overcame that fear? Did it make you weaker or stronger in the end? I would argue that most of us come out stronger, even when we fail. What about a fear you are ready to conquer now?



Case and point: I do not like to try new foods. I am afraid I won’t like them, I will offend somebody by saying so, or that they will make me sick (really, this has happened and it is so embarrassing). Coach Lynn recently challenged me to try one thing every day that scared me, so I spent the recent holiday weekend trying new foods. Roasted red pepper hummus, okra, and black beans—check, check, and check. I don’t like any of them, but I can say I tried them. And by surviving the hummus, I had the courage to do black beans the next day, and then onto hummus. So I succeeded in addressing the fear of new foods, but failed to find something new that I enjoyed. A success story, you say? I was also scared to try a new class at the gym—it had weights and I didn’t think I would be good at those. I found a friend to try the class with me the first time—and it was love at first barbell! Now, the instructor notices when I’m gone because I am such a regular. If I hadn’t chosen to address that fear, I wouldn’t have found a class that I love, made a connection with an amazing instructor, and would not be as ripped as I’m getting. Should out to Carolyn for being amazing! I was also scared to try Zumba because I am a straight up white girl and can NOT dance. However, I’ve given it a shot and found that outside of the instructor (shout out to Tiff & Tina), nobody else in there can—but we are sweating and having fun!!

The good news about trying something new is that you only have 2 outcomes—you fail or you succeed. And if you fail, in the words of J-Lo, “dust yourself off and try again.” We will talk more about failure soon, no worries!!

Should be feared because they can kill you!

So—time to sound off—what will you try that scares you? Tell me what you plan to do, and please re-post when you do--what was the outcome--and from that outcome--now what?

I also would like some submissions from you guys for a little segment I have decided we are going to call “Superstar Saturdays.” I would like you guys to submit to me a story of a Superstar. I would REALLY prefer that you submit a story about yourself—something you took on & overcame—an accomplishment you made, something. This is not bragging—this is being proud of the the work you have done. Please also include a picture of you as people like to see these. You can email me these at laura_anne_82@hotmail.com . You are welcome to submit a story & picture of a friend, but PLEASE be sure your friend is okay with being featured on a blog—I’m not interested in being sued or anything else. I’m not worth much (I think I have $7 in my wallet?) so don’t break me! If I don’t get submissions, I am not only going to cry myself to sleep at night, but I will have to make up stories about fictional people, and I think that may just be sick and wrong. I will only feature one individual per week, so if you don’t see your face this week, stay tuned for another week.

Also as a head’s up, I will be out of town this weekend and may not have access to the ‘net. If that’s the case, I will double post either before or after I go so you are not left hanging too long.

I look forward to your Super Star submissions, and hearing more about your fears!! So post—why not—are you chicken?