Why do we have fears?

Fear. Some might say they aren’t afraid of anything. Are they shy to admit they do have a fear or do they actually not have a fear?

The reason why someone might ignore their fear is because they think it’s easier to just forget or run away from the obstacle instead of having a growth mindset and facing it. The reason we either ignore or confront our fear is because of our feelings. Our feelings go with the option that is less risky than the other.

It’s also important to understand what exactly we are afraid of. For example, the fear of spiders can actually be tied back to the real fear of death, pain, or sickness. It is not necessarily the spider that we are afraid of, but rather what will happen if the spider bites us. Fear of flying in an airplane is another example.  It is actually more probable that we have a fear of dying in a plane crash than simply being in an airplane. I know someone that had a big fear of roller coasters. I also had that fear, but the way I overcame that fear was by trying out the biggest rides. But for my friend he didn’t have the same strategy. Every single time I ask him to go on a big ride with me he tells me “let’s start small”. What he means by that is let’s go to a small ride and work through the big ones. 

Thomas Gutierrez

Culver Academy