Fear is a funny concept. When you truly think about the thing that you are scared of, what is it really?
Recycled photo from July’s Tyndall Glacier ski trip
Heights.
Being alone.
A lack of success.
The list continues forever, but you get my point. I’m sure we can all identify at least one or two things that immobilize us with fear. For me? It’s the incredibly mundane and predictable choice: snakes. I am absolutely, positively phobic about snakes! They’re creepy and weird and move in such a bizarre way that it freaks me out. Besides, they don’t have feet! What is that?!
I’ve come to realize that the internet believes me to be fearless. I find that entertaining.
The bio USA Today wrote for the Best Hiking/Travel Blogger contest
According to this scientist, our brains are hardwired for fear. What was once our ancestors’ intuitive response to threats has evolved into an emotion that some may consider less necessary. Today, we fear not getting a promotion at work or falling on our faces in a front of a large crowd. If anything, we fear injuring our egos, no?
Everyone is scared of something, but most of us create the terror in our mind. I frequently get asked, “But isn’t that scary?” in regards to one of my many outdoor adventures. Fortunately for me {and my adventures!}, fear doesn’t register like that in my brain. If you think about what you are doing in that specific moment, it’s not scary. Taking a step isn’t scary. Scaling a wall isn’t scary. Diving with a shark isn’t scary. The possibilities and the hypotheticals may be terrifying, but those are just floating question marks. I choose to shut those off.
Recycled photo from last year’s Capitol Peak trip
Does it mean I make stupid decisions on occasion? Sure. Am I special in this regard? Obviously not. Does it mean I’m fearless? That’s laughable. I just make the choice to ignore the terror that keeps me from my goal.
Just keep the snakes away from me.
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How do you handle fear?