When you are looking for answers and you are afraid of what you will find, the only question to ask is: which will have greater rule over you, your fear or your curiosity?
This motto or anthem or whatever you want to call it has gotten me through a lot of tough spots. For anyone who thinks like me, you probably understand the question already. For those who don't, I'll explain.
For the longest time I feared a lot of things. My top fears: spiders, heights, and being closed in small spaces. Arachnophobia, Acrophobia, and Claustrophobia for anyone who cares. Each of these fears had a rational explanation. I didn't want to get bit by a poisonous spider. I didn't want to fall off a tall ledge. I didn't want to suffocate in a small room or pass out as I hyperventilated. But of course, phobias become irrational as well. Suddenly all spiders are poisonous, the wind itself will find a way to knock me off a ledge, and the room is somehow shrinking.
Something changed. I got to a point, one that made me not giving a crap about a lot of things. Not giving a crap about certain things can be quite healthy I must say, if you're careful. Hell, I started wearing shorts and a t-shirt instead of pants and two shirts because I didn't give a crap. But what about my fears? Did I give a crap about them? Part of me said no, another part still held on to those fears. Then I read a quote similar to the sentence I open this post with.
Needless to say, things changed again. Suddenly I realized, it wasn't about not giving a crap, it was about giving a crap a different way. I used to give the type of crap that fed into fear. I gave a crap never to pick up a spider, climb a tall ladder, or go into really small spaces. But then I transferred all of that to curiosity. The spider's not dangerous, why not pick him up and put him in a healthier environment? So many people climb this ladder, what's the worst that can happen? Air still flows into this small room, so what do I have to fear?
You have to evaluate things in an educational manner. If you live in America, no spider can really harm you, just call 911 if it's incredibly deadly and you get bit. No height can harm you, gravity is a law, it will keep you up on that high ledge so long as you don't jump off. Small spaces aren't closing in on you. Fear of needles, they poke you and hurt no more than a small pinch for all of a few seconds, they don't even leave scars. Fear of rejection, ask the crush out, if they don't reject you, congratulations, if they do, you can move on and stop worrying about it. Fear of public speaking, so you make a fool of yourself in front of people you'll never see again, big deal, that or you're a politician who's most likely taken a class or two on public speaking.
I apply curiosity to most things now. I stopped caring about my fears long enough to make them into something else, something to be curious about. I urge my readers to try something similar, you don't have to jump in just yet. All I ask is that you try to be curious about the things you fear. Because honestly, what's the worst that can happen?
This motto or anthem or whatever you want to call it has gotten me through a lot of tough spots. For anyone who thinks like me, you probably understand the question already. For those who don't, I'll explain.
For the longest time I feared a lot of things. My top fears: spiders, heights, and being closed in small spaces. Arachnophobia, Acrophobia, and Claustrophobia for anyone who cares. Each of these fears had a rational explanation. I didn't want to get bit by a poisonous spider. I didn't want to fall off a tall ledge. I didn't want to suffocate in a small room or pass out as I hyperventilated. But of course, phobias become irrational as well. Suddenly all spiders are poisonous, the wind itself will find a way to knock me off a ledge, and the room is somehow shrinking.
Something changed. I got to a point, one that made me not giving a crap about a lot of things. Not giving a crap about certain things can be quite healthy I must say, if you're careful. Hell, I started wearing shorts and a t-shirt instead of pants and two shirts because I didn't give a crap. But what about my fears? Did I give a crap about them? Part of me said no, another part still held on to those fears. Then I read a quote similar to the sentence I open this post with.
Needless to say, things changed again. Suddenly I realized, it wasn't about not giving a crap, it was about giving a crap a different way. I used to give the type of crap that fed into fear. I gave a crap never to pick up a spider, climb a tall ladder, or go into really small spaces. But then I transferred all of that to curiosity. The spider's not dangerous, why not pick him up and put him in a healthier environment? So many people climb this ladder, what's the worst that can happen? Air still flows into this small room, so what do I have to fear?
You have to evaluate things in an educational manner. If you live in America, no spider can really harm you, just call 911 if it's incredibly deadly and you get bit. No height can harm you, gravity is a law, it will keep you up on that high ledge so long as you don't jump off. Small spaces aren't closing in on you. Fear of needles, they poke you and hurt no more than a small pinch for all of a few seconds, they don't even leave scars. Fear of rejection, ask the crush out, if they don't reject you, congratulations, if they do, you can move on and stop worrying about it. Fear of public speaking, so you make a fool of yourself in front of people you'll never see again, big deal, that or you're a politician who's most likely taken a class or two on public speaking.
I apply curiosity to most things now. I stopped caring about my fears long enough to make them into something else, something to be curious about. I urge my readers to try something similar, you don't have to jump in just yet. All I ask is that you try to be curious about the things you fear. Because honestly, what's the worst that can happen?
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