‘There goes the fear,
let it go.
You turn around and life has passed you by’
You turn around and life has passed you by’
-The Doves
After feeling particularly nervy about something new I
had to do the other day, I remembered a song I know that has the above lines
and it just matches my situation perfectly. The time leading up to my new thing
has been such a wash of fear that I’ve forgotten to appreciate the day – I’ve
just been a worrypot instead!
The idea of pursuing
something new is usually quite a scary one. Many individuals nowadays openly
admit to having bouts of anxiety – but that doesn’t make the ordeal of having
to go through something any easier.
Often our initial
coping mechanism is to shut ourselves away from this fear – because that’s what
it is, a response to fear. Shutting down and shying away from what we fear
might work in the short term, but is the problem actually being solved this
way?
I’m currently reading
(more like flicking through when I need a boost) a book about anxiety called Dare by Barry McDonagh. I was
immediately intrigued at the way he reframes anxiety and stress. His book
offers a way to end periods of heavy anxiety, not just ‘coping’ with it. What I
love is the way he suggests that you must repeat the mantra that you’re excited about what you fear – as the
emotions are actually quite similar, it’s a good way to trick your brain
feeling a little calmer.
I won’t give too much
away, because it’s really worth a read. But I just think that he makes some
incredibly interesting points about the science behind fear, anxiety and panic.
There goes the fear, you turn around and life
has passed you by.
