The Shadows of Fear | #THINKINGHUES
How overcoming fear and rising to rebellion can liberate and empower you.
Fear can be described as uncomfortable feelings arising in anticipation of something going wrong in the future or the expectation of failure. It is a heightened sense of awareness of the potential of impending danger or the sense that something is about to go very wrong. Fear involves the expectation of unfavourable outcomes, an inaccurate foresight into a possibility, not based on facts, yet likely an inaccurate prediction of the future. Generated before the event that incites it, fear can be helpful in a hunter-gatherer context, such as fearing predators. However, in the modern world, this adaptation is mostly an incredible inconvenience.
I once believed my fears were rational. Thoughts that deserved my headspace. Isn’t it wise to fear, so we are more careful with our decisions? Isn’t it advisable to hold on to fears so that we can walk more cautiously through life? Isn’t fear what’s helping me make better decisions?
As young children, with our prefrontal cortex still developing, we were bolder and emboldened by our actions.
Risk felt enticing, and risk felt thrilling, but it was fearlessness that was often the default in most young children. Like the time I jumped double flights of stairs in consecutive order with my blue razor scooter or how I used to do all I could to soar higher on a trampoline or even join the climbing club, completely ignoring my fear of heights. Back then, fear was a friend, like a small yet rare voice nudging me to pause for consideration.
