Every Day Do Something That Scares You

Fear is one of those forces that leads us to undertake great works of defense or to enslave ourselves. To build mechanisms to take care of ourselves and face danger or to confine ourselves and put a wall in front of the world. Therefore, you have to look him in the face so that he does not grow out of control. Hence this proposal: do something that scares you every day.

It is very likely that people who love you do not invite you to do so in order to protect you. In fact, many times they will try to persuade  you not to expose yourself, do not take risks and  do not experience the discomfort of facing fear.

They do it in good faith. Fear is not exactly a pleasant feeling , although today there are many people who become addicted to risk. Under normal conditions, we experience it as a concern that we seek to get rid of as soon as possible. The bad thing is that this is how we also end up building lifestyles that stagnate us.

Do something that scares you: get out of your comfort zone

The comfort zone is anywhere we have everything under control easily. It is another way of naming the routine, the known, the familiar and, for that very reason, what invites us to stay floating there, without challenging ourselves, without growing, without moving forward.

Of course it is very healthy to have comfort zones. Physical and emotional spaces that allow us to put aside worries and  turn off the switch to make decisions and enjoy the little things, with no other pretense than being calm. These spaces are absolutely necessary to digest experiences, assimilate them and rebalance ourselves.

What happens is that sometimes they also operate like bubbles that end up separating us from enriching experiences. They serve as shelters from which we never want to leave again. They help to keep fears at bay, even those that we would have to face and overcome in order to grow or to reduce some suffering. That’s why when they tell you: do something that scares you, basically what you are invited to do is get out of your comfort zones.

Fear is everywhere

Fear, in principle, is valid as a preservation mechanism. When it grows excessively, it begins to invade people’s souls like weeds. It has a very own dynamic: it nurtures itself. Fear tends to increase, to grow on its own. Even if it is not limited, it can increase disproportionately.

We all need a little fear to live, but we all run the risk of succumbing to it too. Which often happens imperceptibly. You are afraid to speak in public and you build a life in which you never have to, or you avoid whatever situation leads you to face it. Sounds logical. What is not logical is that perhaps you are giving up small and big opportunities, just based on that fear.

This is also the case with more relevant issues such as, for example, suffering. You are afraid of suffering and so you give up a thousand beautiful experiences in life to protect yourself. Or you are afraid of loneliness and give up your freedom so as not to be exposed to it.

Do something that scares you

The main point is that there is no other way to overcome fear than by facing it. There, too, a dynamic begins to operate in which the more you face it, the more capable you feel and the braver you become. Courage also nurtures itself.

In addition,  when you do something that scares you, you begin to discover other facets of yourself, it  increases your confidence and also your self-love. It feels good to be able to push those limits. But of course, in fear there are also levels. You cannot start with what scares you, because maybe you are not ready and instead of nurturing your courage, what happens is that you end up more scared than you started.

Hence, it can be effective to follow that of doing something that scares you, daily. And for this, we can start with small fears. For example, if we are afraid of the dark we can stay a couple of minutes in total darkness. And go out to the other shore, being a little stronger. Or simply walk for a while somewhere that we do not know and that does not inspire confidence.

It is you and only you who know where to start. Do you try?