Fear (or How I Am Learning to Embrace Failure)

FEAR : noun 

1.  : an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger   

       and accompanied by increased autonomic activity.

2. : an instance of fear

This definition of fear comes from the online version of the Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary. This was my favorite of all definitions particularly because of its mention of the increased activity in the autonomic system. The autonomic system is the part of the nervous system that functions mostly below the level of consciousness. This means that the systems that are more or less involuntary-- heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, salivation, perspiration, urination, and even sexual arousal-- all get some kind of signal to change up without any of your conscious consent when good old fear kicks in.  Which would explain why it's so hard to conquer it once fear takes over. Fear has a tendency to win out over all rational thought, which is what makes the emotion so terribly debilitating.

It's easy to think of things that are downright frightening. I'm afraid of flying. I know what that fear looks like. Some people are afraid of heights (me again), afraid of water (oh--that's me too), and the list goes on. But what about the more subtle fears?  What about things like fear of failure-- or fear of success?


Fear of failure, vulnerability, shame... Brene Brown has made a career out of these issues and I've found her material to resonate deeply.

What is fear of failure? What is it, really?  What is courage?  Leaping into the unknown and exposing yourself for who you and you alone, are--that takes courage.  Embracing failure can mean surrendering to the things that you think you must fight.