Hey there! 👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻
I hope you had an amazing week and a chance over the weekend to rest up, recharge, and reconnect with yourself to prepare for the week ahead.
In last week’s newsletter, I shared my thoughts about some ways in which fear impacts upon people’s careers. On Wednesday this week, some colleagues and I were discussing how we celebrated Halloween. I mentioned that my wife and I snuggled up on the couch in the basement, with a fire blazing in the woodstove, and watched a horror film (it was The Nun II). My wife is not really a fan of horror films, but she is open to watching them during Halloween.
After telling my colleagues that we had watched this film, many of them said they couldn’t watch horror films because they find them too intense. I found that to be interesting and thought I’d continue to explore the idea of fear with you all in this week’s newsletter.
On with it. Enjoy!
Tim
From Scream To Dream: How To Harness Fear’s Hidden Power
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Scary movies have always captivated me, particularly films woven with compelling narratives—ones that pull me into their eerie embrace, rather than mindless slasher flicks filled with gratuitous violence. During a recent conversation with colleagues, their aversion to horror films struck me. While I relish the adrenaline surge that fear induces, many of them shunned the very sensation I sought. They confessed to struggling to watch them, knowing that even predictably suspenseful moments would make them jump in fear.
Personally, I find the rush of fear exhilarating! Let’s delve into the juxtaposition of these responses and uncover the nuanced role of fear in our lives and careers.
Have you ever noticed how strikingly similar the physical manifestations of fear are to those of excitement? A racing pulse, clammy hands, and a state of hyperawareness can all emerge from fear—even in the safety of a cinema or home movie theatre. This physiological mimicry is a legacy of our survival instincts, a vestige of the primal ‘fight or flight’ mechanism.
Fear and excitement are indeed mirror images, eliciting comparable bodily responses. This recognition can be transformative, allowing us to harness our fears to pinpoint what truly invigorates us. Many seek to ‘find their passion’. Developing an understanding that fear can be a beacon to excitement is enlightening. Embracing our fears, rather than fleeing from them, can illuminate paths to deeply fulfilling endeavours.
However, our instinct is often to evade fear, a holdover from times when our survival hinged on such caution. Our modern-day fears rarely pose genuine threats, yet our bodies react with the same intensity as if they did.
The neurochemistry of fear suggests that fear releases dopamine, kind of like the rush you get from joy and excitement. This similar physiological response highlights just how closely inter-related these emotions are.
I invite you to examine your fears with a lens of curiosity. Venturing even a step into the realm of your fears can be revealing. By identifying what you shy away from, you’re likely to pinpoint the very work that could be most significant for you. Embracing your fears is not just about confronting them—it’s about steering toward the life you aspire to have.
Embolden yourself to move forward despite your fear and watch as extraordinary outcomes unfurl.
Your call to adventure!
Ready to follow your curiosity and lean into your fears?
I’ve got you. Give yourself the best chance of succeeding by not going it alone.
Having someone there to accompany you on the journey, to keep you motivated, and to challenge you to continue to press on is what will get you there.
Stop wasting your precious life doing work you no longer enjoy.
Let’s go!
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Quotation that I have been pondering
Courage isn’t the absence of fear. Rather, it is showing up and doing what needs to be done, despite your fears. The amazing Brené Brown reminds us of this in this week’s quote;
The good news is that you can choose to show up, to move forward with the change you seek to make. You can become brave, even if you don’t feel it today.
Just show up and do the work you need to do to move towards the life you seek.
Journal Prompt
If you’re able to read this newsletter, you have positive things in your life. Take a few minutes regularly to appreciate those positive aspects of your life, rather than constantly lamenting what you feel you lack.
Life is a precious gift to be savoured.
