A thought after getting a gun pulled on me (and not getting shot):
Wow, we really got nothing to fear except death.
And in modern life, the chance of us actually dying is so so slim. The only realistic way to die is through texting-while-driving, walking-while-texting, or perhaps skydiving.
Thus beyond getting killed — why fear petty things like social embarrassment, “disappointing others”, social strife, financial issues, family issues, and all this petty drama?
Do we have a choice to NOT fear?
This is the tricky thing:
Much of fear is physiological.
What has personally helped me conquer much of my fear has been through powerlifting — attempting epic “one rep max” attempts in my deadlift, squat, benchpress, etc. To me, powerlifting is 99% fear-overcoming. Because once you fail an attempt (and don’t “hurt” yourself), you realize you got nothing to fear.
Petty fears are beneath us
There are some physiological fears which are difficult to un-root from our psyche, but there are a lot of “petty” fears in our life which just aren’t worth worrying about. For me, the biggest petty fears that aren’t worthy of us include social fears.
Social fears:
- Looking stupid in front of others
- Embarrassing yourself
- Offending others
- Being disliked, hated, or ridiculed by others
- Having someone yell mean things to you
You can cultivate conquering social fear
And this is what I realized about my principle skill in life:
My lack of social fear.
I think this is what makes me a great street photographer– I’m less fearful to photograph strangers. Why? Because I’m not really scared of people. In-fact, I love people! Also because I might be more “socially autistic” than the average person, perhaps this aids me in not being afraid to ask strangers to take their photo, or even shooting candidly (I still have social fear, but a LOT LESS than the average person).
Realize that social fear-conquering is a skill. The more you practice, the better you will get at it!
Conclusion
If you have an option to fear, decide not to.
Also — realize that 99.999% of things are petty and beneath you. Don’t even waste your mental energy to fear about it.
The goal:
Become more, attempt more, risk more, and do more epic shit while you’re still alive!
ERIC