Fears

Fears are silly things if we think about them.

Scientist say that if we didn't fear things, we wouldn't be alive. Fear is the general response for when we're in a potentially dangerous situation or we feel threatened.

I've constantly heard, and have been told a few times myself, that we have to get over our fears.

I don't think that we have to.

Depending on what you're afraid of, fear shows our values. They let us express what we're afraid to lose, things we cherish, and what we're afraid of what may be/what hasn't happened yet without having to go into a huge speech as to why. We don't have to explain ourselves when we're afraid of something.

For example, a fear of mine is to never be able to have kids. That's something that hasn't happened yet, but with that one little fact about me, you can already tell some of my values for the future: Start a family and be the best mom I could be. 

I feel as though that's a rational fear. It's something that I don't have 100% control over and could change what little of my future I already have planned. 

An irrational fear I had when I was younger was that I would think that there could be a shark in the pool or lake I was swimming in. I'm pretty sure that that fear was created in between the time of my 10 years of swimming and my first time watching Jaws.

As I got older, I realized how silly that fear was. I broke down the main components, thinking if:

1. There could actually be a shark in the pool.
2. I would be allowed to swim in a place with a killer shark nearby.

I saw how silly that fear was, so I was able to get over it. I understood why I would have that fear, what made me create it in my mind, I analyzed the logic behind it and once I realized that there was none, I stopped being afraid.

Some fears you have for many different reasons and some could be explained easier than others. It's up to you to realize if your fear is rational or irrational, if it's something that you can control and if it's something that is holding you back from something that you really want to do.

I wrote this post today because this afternoon, I went for my wisdom teeth removal consultation. To be perfectly honest, yes, I am scared. The procedure is happening in exactly one month from today, but I can't help but think of everything that could go wrong. 

What is helping me slowly overcome that fear is having to remind myself that many people have this procedure done, it's safe and the doctors know what they're doing.

I believe if you break down any fear you can have and figure out why you have it, I think you can overcome it.

In the end, are fears honestly a bad thing, or do they push us to do whatever could lead us to the best outcome?


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