Last update: June 18, 2016
I recognize that I am afraid. In fact, I've always had it: I don't consider myself a cowardly person who cares about everything that can happen to her, yet there are things that, for no reason, scare me and others that I have learned to fear. Despite this, today I want to say enough: I have thrown down the gauntlet to fear and I promise to defeat it.
Fear usually overwhelms us and chains us. When I am afraid, I have the feeling that someone is blocking me, until I lose control of myself. It's like I'm alienated and sometimes I don't even recognize myself. When I'm afraid, the world stops and time becomes eternal, asking me to react in order to move forward.
Fear is a natural response
Being afraid is as natural as it is inevitable and, therefore, I can't be ashamed of it: everyone, sooner or later in life, feels fear. Nobody can tell me that they have never been afraid, because it would be a lie: maybe our fears are different or maybe you don't want to see them, but they are as valid as mine and just as real.
"The oldest and most powerful human emotion is fear, and the oldest and most powerful fear is the fear of the unknown"
-H. P. Lovecraft-
If I think about it as objectively as possible, it is normal that, on more than one occasion, he felt fear in a different way: sometimes I feared something that had already happened and that had become a trauma to be overcome; other times, however, I was afraid of something that was happening; most of the time, however, I'm afraid of what will happen to me, what hasn't happened yet and what I imagine in my head.
Fear is like this: it is inopportune and timely at the same time. It comes when I least want it to take advantage of the moment and defeat me. Fear comes and gets worse when I feel weaker. However, when I defeat her and win the game, my victory and what it teaches me is priceless.
Fear can be natural and healthy
Even if I don't like being afraid and even if I have to accept it as a natural phenomenon, fear can also be healthy. Yes, healthy, even if you can't believe it.
Fear can be a defense mechanism when there is imminent danger and when it is necessary to react quickly: it allows us to survive, to know our limits and to know how to overcome them.
After all, fear is above all analysis, it leads us to observe situations more carefully, to advance with caution and to avoid any damage.. The problem is that it is accompanied by other emotions that are not healthy because they make us panic and paralyze us: it is then that we must take the reins of our ego, ask ourselves what is the worst thing that can happen to us and be courageous.
“There is no need to be afraid of either poverty or exile or prison or death. The only thing to be afraid of is fear itself ”.
-Epitteto-
To be able to control the pure, and avoid her controlling me, I need to know what it was that brought me here and why I am feeling fear. Only in this way will I be able to defeat it: recognize fear, analyze it thoroughly and convince myself that I can.
I'll throw a gauntlet on fear, look it in the eye and defeat it
When I'm afraid of something, I'm not who I really am and I don't behave as I would like. Fear prevents me from sleeping, prevents me from being happy. No matter how hard I try, if I don't get rid of fear, I can never change, I can never really live.
If you recognize yourself in these words, you will surely have felt this way in situations where your loved ones depended on you: socially others can take advantage of that fear and manipulate you, play with your needs and your life.
If so, you too need to look fear in the eye and tell yourself that you can defeat it: you can get rid of everything that prevents you from moving forward. They can take everything away from you, they can leave you with nothing, but fear can only be eliminated by you, accepting the fact that your life needs life itself more than fear of living it.
“Emotions such as love, friendship, kindness or solidarity do not scare, as they are sincere, intangible and come from the heart. It is these feelings that can change our planet, fill our souls and make us appreciate the beauty of the world around us "
-Pedro Gonzalez Nunez-
