What’s stopping you from trying that new thing or taking that big leap?
Often the answer is fear — fear of rejection, of getting hurt or hurting someone else, of the unknown, of looking or sounding foolish, of failure, of success.
So we choose the path of least resistance because it’s safer and causes less discomfort.
But innovation and progress don’t happen in your comfort zone.
That requires courage, which is not the lack of fear.
In fact, our emotional brains are hard-wired to feel afraid, and the very survival of the human race over the millennia is a testament to the utility of fear.
The modern day challenge is to train our rational brains to recognize and overcome the automatic biochemical response to scary stimuli when the actual threat is far less severe than, say, a saber-tooth tiger.
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it,” said Nelson Mandela. “The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
How would your life be different if you were able to conquer your fears?
*”Choose courage over comfort.” – Brene Brown
