Fear of the unknown

Don’t Let Fear Of The Unknown Stop You From Trying New Things

Among the top fears for most people are the fear of the unknown, and the fear of failure.

I came across a quote (unknown source) that reads, “Don’t fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have.”

I suppose that the older one gets, the more one reflects back upon life. I wonder how many people end up regretting not having done (or tried) ‘this’ or ‘that’. And I’ll bet that the reasons for not having tried or done ‘that’ include the fear of failure and the fear of the unknown…

Overcome Your Fear Of The Unknown Or Fear Of Failure

Don’t let worry, fear of the unknown, or doubt, define who you are. These emotions may end up causing regrets such that you ‘could have’, ‘might have’, or ‘should have’ done this or that…

Many of us may dream of, or wish of, doing or accomplishing something that may seem difficult, or maybe even ridiculously difficult. However, many of us will let doubt and fear of the unknown get the better of us. Stop us from trying.

It is true that these emotions are part of our built-in survival interface. However these same emotions can really hinder us from going further in life.

So how do we get through it?

“Push forward no matter what.” Force yourself to move towards your fear.

“Get comfortable with your fear.” Action builds courage.

“This fear will pass.” (tell yourself)

“Think positive.” Don’t dwell on the fear. Dwell on the solutions.

“Opportunity may pass you by.” (if you don’t take action)

“Motivation through the successes of others.” Others have done it, so can you.

“Do not doubt your success.” Plan and be deliberate in your steps.

Context

Prepping and Preparedness context? I post these thoughts partly because prepping and preparedness is a process that may begin with fear or concern of the unknown. You don’t know exactly what’s going to happen, though it could be bad… Therefore you might not know exactly what to do. Where to start. Why, and how much. To what extent. However to actually become better prepared, you must push through the fear of the unknown, and take action(s).

Additionally, there are often many excuses as to why we might choose NOT to do something. Sometimes because it may be way out of our comfort zone, or we’re afraid of that unknown. However if we force ourselves to just do it – we are often rewarded for the new experience or accomplishment. These things fill our lives as we look back and reflect…

Break through the fear and remove, or go around, any obstacles that may stand in your way.

I cannot tell you how many times that I have been apprehensive about doing something, or taking on a project, task, or ‘other’ that involves stepping into the unknown. It can be a fearful thing. But I can tell you that you will be the better for it afterwards. And the more that you challenge yourself, the easier it becomes the next time…

How many times have you heard the words “I should have done that years ago.” ?

Instead of saying to yourself “I can’t”, maybe you say “I can”, or “I will”.

Don’t get me wrong… fear is not a bad thing. But letting fear control your life is. Fear is the minds way of saying stop, look, think, and decide.

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Winston Churchill: Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.

Winston Churchill: Never, never, never, give up.

Food for thought…

[ Read: Prepping For Reasons Other Than Fear ]

14 Comments

  1. My personal word is Persevere. It is a word of continuation. With that said I am still not jumping out of a plane…..

    1. Mrs. U,
      My personal word is parachute. it’s the reason i prep. you know, JIC.
      ya can’t control everything. i’m not flying the plane, i’m just a passenger.

    2. Mrs. U,
      I did it once. I would gladly do it again. The surprising silence as ya float towards the earth.
      Ham radio, you too can do it.

    3. Mrs. U,
      Ah come on…I’ll go with you and I guarantee it will take a plastic surgeon to wipe the smile off your face! 😀

  2. “Dreams are a dime a dozen. it’s their execution that counts”
    ― Theodore Roosevelt
    “The joy of living is his he who has the heart to demand it.”
    ― Theodore Roosevelt

  3. Courage is being scared to death but saddling up any way.
    John Wayne

  4. When I was skydiving and then got into BASE jumping people would ask “aren’t you scared of jumping off bridges and antennas”? I would say “HELL YEAH! but that’s part of the thrill”. By forcing your mind and body to overcome the natural response to fear and the unknown is the greatest adrenalin rush ever. I always said I want to sit on my porch with a beer and smile remembering the things I’ve done and not be one of those that said “I wish I would have……..”. Life’s too short to wasting it being afraid.

    1. RC
      Like you, dh loved to jump out of those perfectly good airplanes (rowl).
      Until one day on his way out of the doorway the kid behind him steps on his heel and both fell out of the doorway. On the way down dh parashoot did not come out the way it was packed, he managed to correct that issue when that same kid hit him again and he went out of control.
      He managed to get his reserve shoot to come out. He was able to grab the young man who caused all these issues, before he became a spot on the dirt.
      Believe dh said that the person who started all of this left the training session. As for dh he never had the opportunity to receive the star above the parachute. Sometime after this, he was shipped off to NAM again, and that is another story.

  5. Courage is sitting on an ambush at 0200 hrs. when there is an overcast hiding the moon and you hear the sound of something
    approaching and you don’t crap your pants.

  6. Here is a funny “you can overcome fear if you put your mind to it” story. When I first arrived in CA, one of the things I wanted to do was hang gliding. At the time, there were two styles of hang gliding, one where you were seated in a harness under the wing and the other where your body was suspended like the body of a bird under the glider – I wanted to do the second style as it seemed most similar to avian flight. I found a company that designed and built their own gliders, had a 100% safety rating and also offered lessons on how to hang glide. So I signed up for the lessons and met the trainer on the coast, south of LA. They first trained us on the equipment and concepts, then we did practice “runs” on land. After we were approved by the instructor, the next step was to make a short flight off of a low hill/ sand dune. So I strapped into the harness, got direction from the instructor and started to run to edge of the cliff. The theory was that, before you actually reached the cliff, the air currents would lift the glider wing and you would not have to actually jump off a cliff. My rational mind knew that BUT when I got to about 15 feet from the edge, my primitive brain / survival instinct kicked in, said “what lunacy is this jumping off a cliff” and I planted my feet and tried to stop. Momentum, however, took me over the edge and I tumbled down the hill to the beach below. Sand in my hair, sand in my clothes, sand in the glider. The instructors helped me back up the hill and told me to try again. This time I told myself that I could do this. Yes, there was fear as I approached the edge but I looked past it to the horizon; and as I came near to the edge, the glider gently lifted off and I had my first, wonderful flight. From failure to success, by deciding to overcome my fear and to make it happen! I have never forgotten that lesson. Message to self: always look to the horizon.

  7. The TV commercial for V-8 veggie juice.
    Someone has just finished a glass of tomato juice.
    He sees someone else with a glass of V-8.
    First person hits his forehead with the heel of his hand and says. “I could have had a V-8.”
    I yell at the TV and say, “NO YOU CAN’T! — if you could, you would have had one…”

    I could have had a V-8:
    Like you could jump out of an airplane.
    Climb a mountain.
    Start a business.

    “It’s okay to fall flat on your face, at least you’re going in the right direction.”

    If you are apprehensive of aging and what may come.
    “Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.”

    Maybe Churchill said to never give up. But the more you observe Nature, the more you will see that nothing (except maybe man) gives up.

  8. In 20 years you’ll regret more the things you didn’t do than the things you did.Mark Twain.

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