“Don’t be scared,” was a message our parents told us over and over,
writes Jay Shetty.
Fear and anxiety often come hand in hand with each other to the party. We all have so much to offer the world, but fear and anxiety disconnect and limit us from our abilities. When we allow fear and anxiety into our lives, we slowly find ourselves facing our challenges less and less.
Fear is a natural part of life. It can even be a helpful guide in certain situations. So why were we taught that fear is negative and should be avoided at almost any cost? It’s ingrained in us from childhood that we need to find a way around our fear without facing it and “giving in”.
We are rarely taught that fear has a flip side. In Chapter 3 of Think Like a Monk, Jay Shetty explores the flip side of fear and shows readers how to come to terms with it in a healthy way. Fear can either tear us down and keep us from our full potential, or it can build us up and be used as a tool to get to know ourselves deeper and become stronger.
Don’t Hide From Fear
Many of us spend our lives trying to avoid fear, totally ignoring the fact that fear can be used as a tool to examine and work through so we can become better and stronger versions of ourselves. We cannot fully escape fear in our lives.
“We will never fix our world to be in a place that we will live without uncertainty and fear,” writes Jay Shetty. The key here is to realize fear isn’t always bad. Jay Shetty encourages readers to think about fear as a warning we need to pay attention to and a tool to help guide us and shape us on our journey. How we move forward from the initial fear and anxiety is what truly matters.
Use Fear as a Warning
Humans are only born with only two innate fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises1. All other fears and anxieties are acquired throughout our lives. As we get older, fear appears over everyday, mundane things and holds us back from truly reaching our full potential and purpose. Jay Shetty writes that this often happens because we fail to see fear for what it really is – a warning.
Fear triggers a stress response like fight or flight – something that’s very important when danger is near. It gets our attention, allowing us to pivot and survive true danger. Humans developed a fear response out of a need to keep ourselves safe. When we allow fear and anxiety to hold us back, however, we are allowing it to block our true emotions around situations. The longer we hold on to fear, the more toxic it becomes.
