The ignorance of fear

In every situation, there are two possible outcomes.

One that you hope for. And one that you wish never happens.

Fear is just another word for that second outcome. Because it’s not something you like. Perhaps something that you don’t fully understand. May be unexpected.

We need fear to navigate through life and stay alive.

Like joy or sadness, fear is an emotion. When it rises, it’s asking us to pay attention to something.

But what locks us down is our response to fear.

Imagine seeing a snake in your front room. Your first response would be shock and then fear. You have no idea what to do next, and you let the fear consume you. You freeze.

Now imagine you are a Ophidiologist (someone who studies snakes and is a pro at it) and you are in the same situation. What would your first response be now?

The difference between the two situations is “knowledge”. Or understanding. You or I would have no clue how to deal with a snake, but an Ophidiologist knows the game plan.

Same situation, different response. Separated by knowledge and understanding.

Luckily, we don’t have to deal with snakes in our houses everyday. But we are faced with similar fear based situations throughout our lives.

Fear of passing an exam. Losing a job. Failing. Losing money. Losing respect.

What we lack is understanding. It is the not knowing that causes fear.

Remove ignorance, and the fear disappears.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU CAN DO TODAY?

Write down a situation that you fear. Or the outcome of a situation.

Now write down all the possible outcomes. The good, the bad, and the ugly. For each outcome, write down a one line response or action you could take if that happened.

Now think about the same situation or outcome armed with all this information. How has it changed your thinking?