Facing Fear

A few weeks ago, I was at a conference with attendees from all around the world. It was impressive that nearly all of the speakers spoke two or more languages. One of my favorite parts of the conference was watching how people from different parts of the world carry themselves, what they find funny, and how they dress. When I was in the audience, I got to observe a lot.

During the conference, I was asked to participate in a game put on by one of the speakers. Overcoming stage fright, I relaxed into my role, quickly forgetting about the audience. It was really enjoyable to have experienced that conference as both a member of the audience as well as playing a role on stage.

Later that day, as I listened to voicemails in the lobby, I noticed some of the speakers talking in a small circle. They were all smiling and laughing and telling eachother funny tidbits about their life experiences. I noticed that other people in the lobby were watching that group and I saw that some people were drawn to that group, leaving their highly guarded chairs in order to join the conversation. The authentic happiness of the speakers was practically contagious; people couldn't help but join in the fun.

I felt the energy, too, and it made me smile. "That is how I want to be...truly joyful and full of life," I thought to myself.

What all those speakers had in common was that they had overcome stage fright, and delivered presentations. Facing fear in order to give a presentation in a foreign country and in a foreign language is more than most people can do. In other words, where others would decide to stop, they were all really good at facing fear and dealing with fear.

It struck me that that group didn't see being afraid as a reason 'not to go for it'. Instead, they were skilled at dealing with fear while actively 'going for it'. They had all redefined fear as an obstacle to fear being just another emotion on the road to getting what they wanted.

When I had been asked to participate in the group skit, I had surge of stage fright. I thought to myself, "Why did the speaker choose me? I don't want to go up there! What if I do something stupid? I will look like an idiot!" When I realized what I was saying to myself, I knew that I had to face my fear and get up there and participate. I didn't want fear to be the master of my life.

The payoff for overcoming stage fright, was a feeling of authentic happiness; I was excited to be alive. If I had not faced my fears, I think I would have left that conference without learning much about myself. Dealing with fear gave me the opportunity to flex my 'strength muscles' and I felt so refreshed and alive. Running from fear makes life stale and inhibits real growth. How would you feel if you learned to deal with fear, rather than letting fear stop you? Wouldn't you feel better about yourself and what your future could be? If dealing with fear was the hardest part of getting what you wanted, wouldn't you want to overcome fear? If you weren't afraid what would you do with your life?

Have A Great Story or a Comment About This Topic?

Do you have a great story about this? Share it!