Fear

Ok, so here goes my first blog rant or ramble...I'll let you decide. I read an extremely inspiring interview with Alison Thompson in the ever-amazing "mook" Dumbo Feather, pass it on (if you're thinking "what the?" then go to www.dumbofeather.com - it may just change your life) and she said something very interesting. She finished the interview by saying "I had no fear any more. That's the key to everything; if you take the fear out then nothing can hurt you and it doesn't stop you from going forward. It's the same in every job and in every life; confidence is taking the fear out and going for it". It makes more sense in the context of the interview and everything that preceeded that quote, but anyway it got me thinking about fear and how crippling it is to human life. I mean, when you really think about it, the reason any person on this planet doesn't do something they want to do or ought to do is fear. It may disguise itself as something else like reason or caution or being sensible but at the core, it's pure fear. Think about it. The main reason why we never reach our potential and attempt to turn our biggest dreams into reality is because we're afraid of failure. We're afraid of looking stupid. We're afraid that we'll pour all our energy and money into something we're passionate about, only to have it not work out. We're afraid of being hurt so we keep people at arm's length. We're afraid of terrorist attacks and eating carbs and being uncomfortable. Fear is possibly the most debilitating force on this planet. That's probably a big call and I have no evidence to back that up, but this is my blog ramble, not the encyclopedia Brittanica.

Anyway, it's actually very hard (perhaps impossible) to control fear in that we do not choose what we are and aren't fearful of, it's something we inherently feel in response to specific things. BUT (yes, I realise you should never begin a sentence with "but", but again, it's my blog and I can do what I want)...what if we could learn not to not feel fear, but to move through it, to act through it, to acknowledge it but go head anyway?

For example: I have wanted to travel overseas (particularly to Uganda) and do volunteer work for a while now but due to "circumstances", I have not yet turned this into reality. I could cite several reasons for this - lack of money, indecisiveness, being on a year-long rental lease, impending events like weddings etc etc. There are plenty of excuses I could use to reasonably justify why I am still in Melbourne working in hospitality rather than somewhere else in the world doing something that I'm passionate about. However, if I strip back these excuses and look to where they come from, I find fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of going somewhere alone where I don't know the culture. Fear of being outside my comfort circle. Fear of being in debt. Fear of people thinking I'm crazy. Fear of annoying my housemates by forcing them to have to find someone to fill my room. Fear of disappointing people because I won't be there for their wedding, or their child's first birthday or that night when everything falls apart. Fear of taking a leap of faith. None of these are physical barriers. None of these fears can physically stop me getting on a plane. I could borrow some money for a ticket and be on my way. These fears are only mental barriers, yet we justify them to such a degree that we begin to view them as concrete obstacles that we have no conceivable way of getting around. I can still be afraid of all these things but do it anyway. Fears are just excuses as to why we can't do something that we actually can. We just need to lose our fears or take them with us for the ride...