DON’T LET FEARS CONSUME YOU!
I have always had an irrational fear of heights. Maybe it’s really a fear of falling, maybe it’s really a fear of pain from if I fall and get hurt. Regardless, I can be doing some random thing and just freeze in fear because I think if I take another step I may fall.
I have been on a natural bridge in a state park before and froze about 10 feet out onto it. It was wide and I was in the middle. I was not going anywhere. I considered getting down on my hands and knees for a second.
I freaked!
A few different times I have been climbing tree stands during different hunting seasons and get part way up a stand that I have climbed before and just freeze. I can’t go another ring on the ladder. Sometimes I have to will myself down the ladder. I get so frustrated with myself.
During hikes, I have been walking over foot bridges that have caused me to freeze in place. In Florida, over a swamp infested with mosquitoes, is not the place to decide to hang out and decide if your brain can convince your feet that it will be okay, take a step you big chicken! SWAT, SWAT, SWAT!! With red welts all over my face, arms and legs, I trudge on, kicking myself in the butt!
Not too long ago, I purchased a good set of trekking poles. While hiking it not only helped my knees, quickened my pace – it also made me more stable along the trail. I was crossing creeks without so much fear of falling in. I was going up and down slopes without the irrational thoughts of slipping and landing in a pain stricken heap.
Trekking poles gave me a new perspective on my fear.
I went into hunting season with a new attitude. I climbed each stand with a positive attitude and made it to the top each time. I was stronger. I was more confident.
I went hiking with my dear husband to Alabama. We went to Pulpit Rock. I didn’t actually go out on Pulpit Rock. I did sit on the side of the ledge though and he was questioning my new found confidence for possibly pushing my limits too far. I was sitting there though looking out over in complete bliss. I was soaking up the feat and view. I felt so good right there that moment!
It is amazing how facing your fears and slowly dealing with them in phases gives you a new confidence. It gives you a better sense of connection with your surroundings when you are not afraid and worried. Freeing your mind of fear opens it to filling it with the scenery, the sounds, the smells and washes away your stresses in life.
Explore your fears away!
FLATWOODERS 
Having fear helps to protect us ~ it makes us alert to danger and prepares us to deal with it ~ it’s a basic survival instinct. Without fear, our chances of day-to-day survival would diminish. Fear helps to lead us away from dangerous situations. It can also paralyze us and make our lives miserable. My biggest fear? I’m afraid of letting people down as I have experienced being let down by others. And it stinks. You never get rid of it ~ it stays with you forever and a day. But, learning to compartmentalize it is huge. And that’s how we cope ~ by not letting it rule us. And I choose to not let fear rule me, but use it to guide me through dangerous situations which have the potential to harm me. That being said, in the physical world, not being able to keep doing the things I love to do, scares the hell out of me. But, I refuse to let that thought ruin my life. No sense in worrying about the inevitable. Just need to keep on keepin’ on.
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