F – I have no FEAR!

What if you had no fear?

A definition of fear is: to be afraid of (someone or something) as likely to be dangerous, painful, or threatening.

When we feel fear, the following happens to our body: The amygdala in the center of our brain sends signals to our autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS kicks in, suddenly our heart rate increases, our blood pressure goes up, our breathing becomes more rapid.  Stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are released. The blood flows away from our heart and out towards the extremities, preparing our arms and legs for emergency action.

We all have our fears. Some fears are rational like the fear of bee stings, if you have a severe allergic reaction to stings or fear of growling animals that are acting erratically. Those fears keep us safe. Some fears are irrational such as believing all of your food is poisoned or that everything you own is secretly recording your every action (Though with smart phones, tvs and gps tracking, that might not be so irrational). These fears have greater underlying problems.  Some fears appear real as in phobias which are very real to the person experiencing them and also very debilitating.

Given all that,  what if we had no fears?

For people that are shy and not risk takers. Having no fear might be a benefit. It might get you to take more chances than you normally would and allow you to improve in things that you are weak in. It might help you become more creative. Where would most of the things that were invented be, if those inventors gave in to their fear of failure? Where would all the medical and technological breakthroughs be if people were fearful to go where no one has gone before? It would also help people that have phobias not be afraid of things holding them back.

Then again having no fears, might also work in the opposite direction, where people ignore real safety issues and do stupid things. I don’t have to look while crossing the street, no one will hurt me. I won’t get burned walking through that fire. I can stay out in the sun all day.

There actually are people in the no fear category right now and there are awards for them. The award is called the Darwin Award. These awards originating in Usenet newsgroup discussions around 1985. The Darwin awards were named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution. They commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it.  

Here is a story of a 2015 winner. A 24-year-old voter, trying to conceal his identity, appeared at his polling station with a bag over his head. That would be a plastic bag!! – http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2015-01.html Clearly, fear of suffocation was not on the table. I should mention that Darwin Awards are awarded posthumously.

So a lack of fear can go both ways. Your task is to look at the fears you have. Are they real? Are they imagined? Are they perceived as real?  Once that is decided you need to decide is this a fear that should or should not be dealt with. “It is a healthy fear that keeps me safe”. Or, “It is a fear that I know is keeping me from succeeding or moving forward”, such as fear of flying, or fear of speaking in public. For those Darwin award candidates, so really stupid that fear is not an issue, enjoy your award, you have nothing to decide.

Once decided, then act on that fear. Adhere to it, try to overcome it, either by yourself or with the help of others (professional or not) and let it move you forward in health and safety,

And what if your fear is reading blogs? No problem, you can just this.