One strategy to conquer this fear is to think about the situation rationally. What's the worst that could happen? Person hates me forever and never speaks to me again and then kills my entire family. Okay, but what's actually the worst that could happen? Some form of rejection, I guess. Well that's not so bad! You can survive that! Yeah I guess, but that's not really what I'm afraid of. Then what are you afraid of? I don't know! You think I need to have something to fear to be afraid? Screw you, Rationality! You don't know me! One, I am you. And two, If you have nothing to fear, then why be afraid? Because it's scary! Why, why is it scary? I don't know! Then how do you even know that it is scary? Because I'm scared!
Such analyses tend not to be very helpful for me.
My solution is not to not be afraid. Rather, I conquer my fear by thinking what Future Me would think. Some things I have to do even if I don't want to or am afraid to because Future Me would hate me if I didn't. This also applies to things that I want to have done more than I want to do. For example, I'm studying away next semester. It's not the draw of the experience itself that made me decide to do it so much as having had that experience. You get me? I've always wanted to travel somewhere. I think it's something everyone should do. I'm not really afraid of doing it, but I am a little bit. I know that if I gave up the opportunity to study away, I would probably never do it and Future Me would hate me forever for it.
Now that I think of, that's another way of dealing with fear. Passing the buck to Future Me. You know what's not scary? Applying and paying for a semester abroad. You know what's even scarier than a semester abroad? Not going abroad after you applied, accepted, and and told everyone you were going away.
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