What Are You Afraid Of?
Jul 12, 2021
“There's nothing to fear but fear itself."
-- Theodore Roosevelt
The 4th of July sounded like a war zone here because there were so many fireworks exploding. I saw a facebook post that said, "Fireworks on sale; Buy One Get 56,000." It sure sounded like that.
Normally, on July 4th and New Year's Eve, my dog, Truffle, paces the house looking for a safe space, trembling at the sound of fireworks. It's awful to watch because I am powerless to alleviate her fears (and you know how I feel about being powerless.) My best friend was staying with us on the fourth and suggested I turn on the fan in the bathroom so Truffle couldn't hear the noise. Truffle was already cowering in the bathroom, so I gave her a peanut butter CBD treat, wrapped her in her thundercoat, grabbed a small fan from my office because that fan wasn't as loud. Then we hunkered down for the evening.
The fan, the CBD, the thundercoat and me hanging out with her worked. After a while, she fell asleep. I left her at midnight to go to bed because the fireworks subsided. She came out with her tail wagging, saw me in bed, and then headed back to her safe space to sleep the night away.
Truffle is 9 years old. All of these years, suffering through fireworks and never experiencing harm, you would think she wouldn't feel afraid. It's interesting, though--I think I'm a bit like Truffle sometimes. 
How many times have I been anxious about something that never happened? How many times have I been hunkered down on the bathroom floor rather than make a phone call to a prospect? How many times have I not had (what I assumed was) a crucial conversation because I feared the outcome--it wasn't a tough conversation after all? And I have procrastinated a project because I didn't know how to do it and feared I would do it incorrectly. Or is it just me that likes a safe space?
In Hawaii last year, our resort had this long, corkscrew tube slide into one of the swimming pools. "Mom, we have to do that!" my daughter said excitedly. Are you kidding? It would be dark, I couldn't see where I was going or where it would spit me out. That powerless thing again. Crap...I couldn't let Julie know I was afraid. Fine. I dreaded every moment of the stair climb to the top. The guy sitting at the top said, "I'm here to make sure you go down feet first." OMGeeee, people want to go down head first? I just laughed.
IT WAS A BLAST! I can't count the number of times that we enjoyed that slide!
I know these sound like minor things, but fear can be paralyzing and prevent us from achieving our goals and dreams. I have coached individuals who didn't set goals because they were afraid of not attaining them. Fear of success can cause us to sabotage the very achievements that we have so hoped to earn. What does fear cost us? It's a great question, isn't it?
My experience in overcoming fear is to take action...one baby step at a time. Eleanor Roosevelt says it best, “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” That action makes the next scary thing easier to do.
Facing my fears,
Jan
Jan McDonald
The John Maxwell Team
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