Mindful Hack #97

We are wired to be fearful.

When you look at our ancestors, fear made sense. Everything was a potential threat to their safety – drought, sabre tooth tigers, getting kicked out of the clan, etc. And although we’ve come a long way from those circumstances, that little fear-center in the brain (the amygdala) is still highly sensitive.

How many times have you wanted to try something and decided against it? Chances are that pesky little fear-center got activated so your talked yourself out of whatever “risk” it perceived. This happens all the time for us, in small ways like not wanting to try an oyster for the first time and big ways like not pursuing our passions or dreams.

We think we’re better off staying within our comfort zones – where it feels safe, familiar, and where we have a sense of (perceived) control. But here’s the thing about comfort zones – nothing extraordinary ever happens there. What innovation, evolution or exhilaration started within those boundaries?

We once thought that courage was inherited but have since discovered that it is learned by recognizing what scares us and doing it anyway. Courage is the willingness to be vulnerable, to push past what’s comfortable and to grow (even when, maybe especially when, we get a little bruised along the way).

Is there something you’ve been wanting to do, big or small, that scares you? What’s the worst that could happen if you saw that fear for what it is, a perceived threat to your safety, and did it anyway? If nothing else, your comfort zone would stretch and there would be one less thing to be afraid of (even if you never want to eat an oyster again).


Mindfully yours,