Lean into your Fears

TWT Newsletter #13

Fear is a natural human emotion that can often hold us back from pursuing our dreams and achieving our goals. Whether it's fear of failure, fear of rejection, or fear of the unknown, these emotions can be paralyzing and prevent us from taking the necessary actions to move forward in life. However, leaning into your fears is a powerful tool for personal growth and self-discovery.

When we learn to be comfortable with our fear, we become more resilient and develop the confidence to tackle challenges with less resistance. This is an important concept here because the less resistance you have in life - the more aligned your actions will be and the faster you will hit your goals.

Leaning into your fears also teaches valuable lessons, develops more grit and abilities, which can help us handle problems and make better decisions in the future. Moreover, it can be incredibly liberating and empowering. This allows us to live our lives to the fullest and pursue our passions without fear of (basically) our fears. The analogy I like to use when reaching this level is that you are on a long journey and fear is just the passenger who's in the car with you. It won’t hurt you, but never goes away. Get comfortable with it and understand it will be with you for the entire ride. And that’s ok. It’s just there. Keep driving forward, toward your destination.

Origins of Fear

Understanding the origins of fear is another way you should look at it and be comfortable facing it. Let’s take a look at the origins: Fear is an emotional survival mechanism our brain produces to protect us from danger.

Back in the caveman era (Stone ages, etc.) when we were foresters and survival was our sole mission. Anything could have killed us. Something unknown beyond the waters. A rattling bush. Eating a random berry or plant. As we learn and develop, so do our brains. Creating neural networks, systems and allowing us to develop tools to increase our survival rate and improve our lives. Progressing through the ages, we became smarter and less vulnerable.

Our modern day society, we have an extremely low death rate. We could call ourselves lucky instead of being a forester and unknowingly eating the wrong things and dying from them. Imagine waking up one morning and seeing your caveman neighbor Larry dying and thinking we need to avoid that blackberry Larry ate last night.

Jokes aside, our fears are not. We just have to accept that it is just here trying to protect us from danger. However In our society and world, - the fear we face isn’t life-threatening. So lean in, it won’t kill you and embrace it. Because the more you do, the more you will face uncomfortable yet growthful- filled experiences of this world.

Triumph over Fear

Another inspiring example of learning and facing your fears is Mandella’s quote. This quote reminds us that fear is a natural part of the human experience, and that true courage comes from leaning and facing our fears head-on and being comfortable with them (triumph).

Imagine the times you were scared to do something unknown and new, but you did it. What was the feeling after you overcame it? I’m sure more than 51% of the time the outcome was better than you expected and nothing to fear!

As long as there is something new for us to learn/do/pursue fear will always be there. It is just a natural function your brain does to protect you from what it perceives as danger. Your brain's primitive role is to survive and preserve energy. That is why it creates fear, because it's the best way to combat yourself from trying to do the thing you might need to be doing to succeed or get one step closer.

In conclusion, learning to lean into your fears is an essential part of personal growth and development. It WILL be a challenging and uncomfortable process, but the rewards are worth it. By confronting our fears, we can build resilience, develop confidence, and achieve our goals, no matter how daunting they may seem at first.

Hope you learned and enjoyed my newsletter!

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- William Thing