Behind Fear Lie Opportunities To Grow

Sometimes our fear is disguised as logic to prevent us from seeing the real reason why we avoid challenging situations:  the fear of the unknown. So the feeling of uncertainty and previous expectations can paralyze us. They will even lead us to avoid situations that are necessary to grow. But only by exposing ourselves to them will we be able to unearth the opportunities that lie on the other side of fear.

In addition, knowing how to manage our fear gives us some pleasure and reduces the chances of having disorders associated with anxiety. Because nobody likes to be afraid, but if we understand and control it, we will experience a feeling of relief after the tension suffered, we will prevent it from affecting our health and we will discover a new way to continue growing personally.

Let’s not forget that many of the situations that paralyzed us in the past, we now face without blinking. Exams, public speaking, socializing with others, etc. Behind each of them, there has always been a reason that led us to carry them out despite the avoidant and paralyzing thoughts that arose when faced with novel or stressful situations: our capacity for evolution and personal growth. Let’s dive into it.

 Only one thing makes a dream impossible: the fear of failure

Why do we experience misaligned emotions when faced with new situations? The reason is that our body at those times tries to defend itself and when faced with feelings of uncertainty and fear, its response is to prepare ourselves for immediate escape as a rescue. Thus, on a physical level, there is an absence of blood flow in the upper part of the body so that the blood is directed to the lower extremities in order to facilitate a quick escape. Therefore, our first reaction to this type of situation is avoidance or flight.

So although the first natural reaction is to avoid these types of situations, the capacity we have for ourselves and for our thoughts gives us a greater margin to make more rational and less intuitive decisions.  And it is in that margin where we find the opportunities that are hidden behind fear and, ultimately, new situations.

Thus, the fear of failing in the face of new challenges is something intuitive, which is given to us by a phylogenetic inheritance from our ancestors. But the desire to achieve our goals is something more personal that is hidden in each of our thoughts and emotions. So that fight between genetics and what we think is what will lead to our decisions to success or failure and ultimately, to achieve or not our dreams.

The things that scare us are the ones that end up making us the happiest

They tell us that if we want something we have to make it happen, but why do the things we want most frighten us? Sometimes, we simply back down because we prefer to stay in unattainable expectations to continue fantasizing about what would happen if we were to achieve what we really want. Others, the suspicion and the effort involved in pursuing our happiness outweigh our dreams and we prefer to live in an invariant state with ourselves, without great frights …

The key is knowing that the more we do, the more we can do. That is the circle we must enter if we want to overcome fear over and over again to get the things we really want. Fear is only an emotion that once understood, leads us to understand that it is useful in a range of very limited situations and that we will experience very few times in life.

Most of the fears that we live are irrational worries and thoughts  that the sooner we begin to identify and cope with, the sooner we will begin to enjoy the things that are really worth it. Because behind our fears there are always opportunities to know to continue growing and overcoming our mental barriers.