Fear and courage don’t exist independently of each other.
You fundamentally cannot have one without the other.
One is a reaction to the other.
I think some people are born with more psychological strength than others, but it’s minimal.
I think courage is a trained response just like everything else.
The first time I went sky diving the instructor asking me if I was excited….
I said “Hell Yeah!” I was lying. I didn’t realize how exaggerated that lie was until I was seated at the exit door.
No I wasn’t excited
If you’ve ever jumped out of a plan, the first time is absolutely terrifying. Then it gets easier because you know what to expect and how it feels.
I was scared of something that doesn’t even happen when you sky dive. I was afraid of that dropping feeling in my gut.
You don’t get that when you jump out of a plane because the body needs a frame of reference to tell you that you are falling.
At 12,000 ft there is no frame of reference because you are so far away from the ground.
One of the biggest things that scares me about new endeavors is the unknown.
Almost everyone fears the uknown.
The reality is the unknown almost never resembles our worst fears once we make the leap.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t scary.
What helps us navigate that fear is action.
How often are you nervous as the coach says 3,2,1 Go!
How nervous are you immediately after that?????
I can say I’ve never been scared during a workout, but I still get the nervous pee feeling before a lot of them.
We train ourselves to deal with fear every day in the gym.
Let’s start to carry that skill outside the walls of the gym.
Make the leap and start negotiating the issues that come up.
It’s incredibly difficult to feel the sense of fear while we are actively engaged in problem solving.
Are we scared the nutrition program won’t work? Just start doing it and course correct as frequently as the situation requires.
Are we scared to take on a new venture in business? LIne up the potential issues and start addressing them head on.
Are we scared about conflict with our spouse or friends? Sit down and express the issues face to face and get it out and on the table.
When was the last time you did something that scares you?
Don’t avoid it!
Treat it just like every workout, negotiate it one rep at a time!
Fern
