IN my previous article (here) I wrote about how ancient man experienced real fear.
The reality that he was going to die when he stepped out of his immediate environment (comfort zone) for more rewards (rich pickings) with the prospect (risk) of attack from dangerous wild animals or neighbouring tribes.
This fear was very real but he used his senses to great effect to dispel the fear.
In the modern world we are required to step out of our comfort zone on a much more regular basis but the risk of attack by these dangerous wild animals etc has completely diminished (most of them are dead or are in quarantine zones).
The reality is that this is the case but our bodies still react in the same manner as ancient man was conditioned to survive (a warning that we are in danger of being killed).
Of course we know that we are not going to be killed but our bodies still react with the same fears.
To aid this understanding there is a very helpful acronym of the word Fear – it is;
False
Expectations
Appearing
Real
In other words we have to face many challenges in modern living but many of the fears that we face aren’t real. They are more to do with what is now called psychological fear.
A classic example of this is fear of wasps. Many, many people have a serious continuous fear of wasps. They can run away from a single wasp with the fear that they are going to die. (That is what their body with the reaction of ancient man is telling them).
The reality is that they are not going to die but they might possibly on a rare occasion get a sting (which can easily be treated with vinegar).
So the truth is the fear isn’t real. The thought is real but the threat isn’t. However our bodies react to the thoughts as if they were real. When we learn to control our thoughts (meditation) we can in turn learn to control our reactions and slowly come to realise that all this fear is unnecessary as it isn’t real in the first place it only appears to be real.
We now very much live in a computer age. Many young people use computers in the same way that they would eat an ice-cream.
Nowadays even five and six year olds can use a computer easier than they can tie their shoes.
If you put a group of inexperienced elderly people in a room with computers they would look at you as if you had just announced that they were given a death sentence.
The reason for this is fear. They are out of their comfort zone and have already convinced themselves that they are unable to cope and have been paralyzed by fear.
I love the expression – ‘In doing we learn’ so with a little coaxing and a little gentle persuasion from the younger generation and a little practice all of these fears can be quickly overcome.
The reality is with two clicks of a button most people are able to access ‘Google’ which in turn gives access to whole world of learning (has practically replaced God!).
The other reality is many of these computer companies want to sell more and more of these computers, tablets etc and thus are getting easier and easier to use.
So all of these Fears are thus purely psychological and are not helpful.
I now prefer another acronym for Fear;
Feeling
Excited
And
Ready
This helps us to realise that fear is a very normal part of our makeup and with awareness of how it works (hopefully my recent articles have helped this understanding) it can enhance our lives in a very positive way.
Thus we can change this fear into positive energy and have every reason to feel excited.
• Next week I am going to write about the connection between fear and modern business.
