Dear friend,
I make my living teaching workshops helping others conquer their fears. To me, fear isn’t something to be destroyed, but harnessed in a positive way.
I had this random thought while in the gym:
Is there wisdom in adrenaline, testosterone, or any of these “stress hormones”?
I think so.
Well, generally I know for myself in street photography, the more I feel fear when I see a potential photo, the more likely it is to be a good photo! Why?
Well, if I see a scene that I want to photograph (and I feel nervous), it is because my subconscious wants to photograph it, but it’s my fear of negative retribution from the other person which holds me back!
So in simple words,
If you want to make better photos, shoot more things which scare you!
If you’re interested in street photography, you’re probably an adrenaline junkie in one way or another. And to be honest, I think all of us are adrenaline junkies in one way or another.
For example, some of us get our adrenaline fix from playing video games, some from chasing sexual partners, and some of us (like myself), we get our “adrenaline fix” when lifting heavy stuff at the gym.
So I had this thought: How can we let our fear and adrenaline guide us and empower us?
Fear is important. If we didn’t have fear, you wouldn’t be alive today. Fear is what kept our ancestors alive, and continues to keep us alive. Fear of dying in a car accident is what keeps me from texting while driving. Fear of failure in any entrepreneurial venture is what makes me more prudent and consider the “worst possible scenario” before taking on an irreversible decision.
So my philosophy is this,
Control and harness your fear to empower you. Master your fear; don’t be the slave of your fears.
To master your fear, think of your fear like a three-headed cerebus (devil dog) from hades. You cannot stop the Cerebus from barking at you, but you can control how you react to your dog. You can discipline your dog, you can muzzle your dog, or you can listen to your dog and listen to the wisdom it has to tell you.
But ultimately, recognize that you’re the master of your fear, not the other way around!
I think to live a heroic and epic life is this:
Don’t let fear prevent you from undertaking what you truly desire to undertake!
It’s okay to still feel fear. Elon Musk feels fear greatly, yet he still believes so much in his life mission that he doesn’t allow his fear to hold him back.
If we didn’t have fear, we wouldn’t be human. But if we desire to be “super-human” (above human), we take the next step:
Still feel fear, but let fear guide you, not hold you back!
BE BRAZEN!
ERIC