Fear
Ok, what I’m about to type may be a load of senseless babble but it’s stuck in my head so thought I’d make an entry out of it.
I’ve been thinking, next to love and hate, what is the strongest emotion out there? I guess you could say every emotion experienced can be a strong feeling, depending on the situation, people involved and other factors – which, is true – however I think one of the strongest out there has to be fear, at least for me. Fear has a lot to answer for.
fear
a. A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger.
b. A state or condition marked by this feeling: living in fear.
It effects us so much we probably don’t even realise the extent as to how much it can change us, and normally for the worst. Fear is linked to a bad consequence, or something we think may turn out bad and naturally we’ll try to dodge it as much as possible and sometimes this means doing something that goes against our own, and/or society’s, morals. Even if we don’t take the negative actions, I doubt there’s many people who could tell me, honestly, that they haven’t considered them. It doesn’t automatically make you a bad person considering these actions, ultimately, none of us want to be hurting, none of us wants that bad consequence, so it would be easier to run with the action that goes against our own morals to escape from the awful consequence that will (or could) happen – or is it?
Fear comes in all shapes and forms. From a goalkeeper fearing they’re going to miss the last penalty which depends on whether their team wins the championships, to someone being caught in the web of depression, to applying for a job you don’t think you can get, to being victims of some sort of abuse, to hosting a dinner party for a load of guests.
Going against our own beliefs is only likely to end up damaging us, maybe even more than the effect of the consquence we are dodging. Dodging the fear can only make us more miserable, being stuck in a situation we don’t want to be a part of, and missing the chance of a breath of freedom. Or the opposite where we fear being stuck in a situation, and will miss the freedom, when we know deep down that we should step forward and, if applicable, admit to whatever wrong we’ve done. Our conscious tells us what feels right or wrong, going against our conscious leads to other emotions, normally bad ones.
If you’re fearful of a situation here’s a few questions to ask yourself:
Outline the situation you fear.
Why are you fearful of it?
Think of ways you can dodge your fear…
… either by dodging the entire situation?
… diving into the situation?
Think of the pros and cons of…
… dodging the entire situation
… diving into the situation.
Thinking ahead…
Is there anyone who can help you face your fear?
If you’re faced with the consequences of your fear, how can you handle it? (any help you can obtain?)
How will you feel after you have faced your fear?
Sometimes when we’re scared or fearful of something our mind goes into autodrive and we don’t think through things clearly. Instead all we can think of is “no, I can’t do that… it’s not possible… I don’t want to” and we don’t think through all the options. Hopfully by answering the above questions we can obtain a clear view of a situation and makes us think a little more clear.
As I said, maybe it was a load of senseless babble but I typed this up because fear has been stuck in my head for a while now and I need to break through it, so this blog entry is meant to try and help me, hopefully it has helped others too. Sorry for how long it is though!