Vertigo-Three Reasons to Embrace Your Inner Scaredy Cat
I remember a time when I was a kid, and we used to get really excited on a Friday night when we could go and rent a heap of movies at the local video store. There are 6 children in our family, and now I can see with absolute understanding how my mother was excited too….this might actually mean that with 6 kids lined up to watch a video, she might actually get 5 minutes to go to the toilet by herself!!
Of course, with me being the eldest there were times when the little ones were in bed that I would get to watch a scary movie or two with my parents.
Scary movies have that love/hate thing going on about them. You really don’t want to see the really scary bits, but you can’t resist peaking out between your fingers as your hands cover your face in sheer horror! You peak, and then you wish you hadn’t…….
I can honestly say I had countless nights lying awake swearing I saw Freddy Kreuger in the shadows outside my room, being almost CERTAIN that Chuckie was pulling himself up the stairs from my brother’s toy box, or that Jason was just around the corner with that annoying, yet spine chilling breathing he did.
This to me, was not exactly the most productive type of FEAR, but it was fear all the same.
Fear seems to be among the trendiest topics to blog, talk, write, and quote about at the moment. It is a word that slips easily from our mouths as we claim to “kill that beast”, “slay the dragon”, and “conquer all”.
It is the stagnant pool we all love to swim in. We bask in it, soak in all it’s crippling capacity, and cling to it with our co-dependency.
But here’s where I say “Get a grip”, and by “Get a grip”, I mean take that ball of fear in whatever area of your life seems the scariest to conquer.
Then get scared…and I mean really scared. Let the fear get the best of you, let it grow inside you until you feel lightheaded, and nauseated. Let the sweat trickle down your forehead, and your stomach do a few loops on spin cycle.
Why? You ask??
Because it is this intense feeling of fear, of standing on the ledge looking down into the nothingness,
Or going up the creek without a paddle (not so scary until you encounter something like this like we did on our recent trip to Ethiopia!!!) that kickstarts something deep within you.
This is your FUEL…..
Out of an intense experience comes something of great value, clarity and comfort. To have that feeling of being so uncomfortable where your entire universe seems to have shifted off balance is really something quite special.
That’s where the magic happens!
And this, my friend, is why standing in the face of FEAR can only be a good thing!
1. What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger.
How many times did I hear that saying when I was a kid? And rightly so, it does stand to reason that if you can weather the storm, the storm won’t weather you!
The more you stand up and face whatever it is that makes your knees tremble, the more accustomed you get to handing it with ease….and you become your own warrior of inner peace!
2. Fear doesn’t FLOW.
Fear stops you dead in your tracks. There is no continuum, and particularly not when you reach that state of vertigo, where all your bodily functions seem to have a mind of their own. Frozen in time, your body and mind adjust to the conditions it’s been handed.
It’s fight or flight, sink or swim.
And how exactly is that a good thing?
Well……..one of our biggest problems that we face today is the inability to slow down, to take stock of what matters, or to observe where it is we stand.
Fear does a great job of taking the bull by the horns, making you stand at attention and making a decision of how the hell you’re going to get out of a given situation, and fast!
As I said, we don’t generally LIKE to feel uncomfortable.
Fear is a vehicle. It stops us dead in our tracks until we see the light from that oncoming train fast approaching. And let’s hope that when we see that light, we make a MOVE!
3. It creates vulnerability, and that’s a beautiful thing…
Where there is a whiff of fear, either one of two things can happen externally….
People will prey on your vulnerability, or they will genuinely want to help.
Cultivating vulnerability brings with it a sense of responsibility to rise above it all, and when coupled with a desire to overcome, it breeds great courage.
This last point is very personal to me as I just completed a full day public speaking seminar. When it comes to writing, I feel I have a good articulation of what I need to say.
When it comes to speaking, I feel I have a lot of work to do, and it was with this seminar that this became even more apparent for me. I trembled inside, and felt frustration with the fact that I didn’t feel I was projecting myself as I wanted to be seen. My magnificence had crawled into a corner somewhere and was not interested in making a special guest appearance.
I stood in front of the group and felt a deep vulnerability I have not felt for some time. This both crippled and liberated me. As my throat closed over with a hoarse voice, my legs trembled, and at one point, I broke down into tears, I felt fully exposed.
There was a sense of frustration, but as I come away from the experience there is also a sense of connection with myself and the audience in knowing that my vulnerability was there for a purpose. This vulnerability has now become the fuel that propels me forward to acknowledge my weaknesses, to grow from them, and to push the boundaries even further.
To say it gave me a different perspective (as is the case with extreme fear!) would be an honest statement.
What have you done recently that has had you trembling in your tracks?
How do you feel you cope with fear? Do you face up to it, or are you likely to run and hide?
For more inspiration, check out a copy of my book “Hungry” Feed Your Soul which highlights the beauty in all that surrounds us in all it’s simplicity.
Tagged: courage, embrace your fear, vertigo, vulnerability
