Caught in the Headlamps - Overcoming Fear
A dark night. I was driving home. Our daughters asleep in the back. It is a narrow coastal road, flanked on one side by steep mountain slopes. The opposite verge plummets some 30 meters straight into the icy Atlantic Ocean. I rounded a bend, and was faced with a small duiker (buck) caught in the glare of the headlights. It was wide eyed and paralyzed by fear to its spot in the central white line.
It seemed ages in my mind. I braked steadily, hoping it would dash to one side. It didn't. I braked more aggressively, finally swerving rightwards, and jolting to a halt. I looked round, reversed, and studied the surrounds. It had vanished.
VERY cautiously I completed the rest of the journey home. But I kept thinking about the duiker, and how it had done exactly what many of us do when confronted with danger, or a frightening situation.
So often fear paralyses us. We are confronted head on with something big and unexpected, and our first reaction is ... to freeze.
'Fear' and 'Risk' are central to my life as a mountain guide. Rock Climbing is a great way of learning not so much to overcome fear as to deal with it. Fear is necessary. It fuels adrenalin which enables you to operate at a higher level, to maximise your performance, and it enlivens your senses. It makes you appreciate things you often overlook. It is by valuing the positive aspects of fear we can work with it and use it as a tool to stimulate success.
However to be able to unlock the potential that fear can generate within us, we have to first learn how to accept and assimulate it. Here is just one method: Familiarity.
Climbers are able to achieve more dangerous or technically difficult challenges through training. - Not just training your body but also your mind. By constantly placing yourself in low level positions of fear you are able to build a sense of familiarity. Fear becomes something you are accustomed to, and when this happens you no longer freeze in the headlights. You acknowledge the situation, accept it, and this gives you the mental space to deal with it.
It seemed ages in my mind. I braked steadily, hoping it would dash to one side. It didn't. I braked more aggressively, finally swerving rightwards, and jolting to a halt. I looked round, reversed, and studied the surrounds. It had vanished.
VERY cautiously I completed the rest of the journey home. But I kept thinking about the duiker, and how it had done exactly what many of us do when confronted with danger, or a frightening situation.
So often fear paralyses us. We are confronted head on with something big and unexpected, and our first reaction is ... to freeze.
'Fear' and 'Risk' are central to my life as a mountain guide. Rock Climbing is a great way of learning not so much to overcome fear as to deal with it. Fear is necessary. It fuels adrenalin which enables you to operate at a higher level, to maximise your performance, and it enlivens your senses. It makes you appreciate things you often overlook. It is by valuing the positive aspects of fear we can work with it and use it as a tool to stimulate success.
However to be able to unlock the potential that fear can generate within us, we have to first learn how to accept and assimulate it. Here is just one method: Familiarity.
Climbers are able to achieve more dangerous or technically difficult challenges through training. - Not just training your body but also your mind. By constantly placing yourself in low level positions of fear you are able to build a sense of familiarity. Fear becomes something you are accustomed to, and when this happens you no longer freeze in the headlights. You acknowledge the situation, accept it, and this gives you the mental space to deal with it.
I like this concept of familiarity, Rachael - it can be applied to all aspects of life.
ReplyDeleteJust caught this now. THank you for your thoughts on this Maz!
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