Hello. This is Master Mike over at Water Mountain, Martial Arts and Health.
Let's talk today about the role
that fear plays in the decision making process.
In general, when we make a decision and we
feel fear, the decision that we make is poor.
And the reason for that is, when we are making the decision,
we're selecting an option based
on its ability to relieve us of this pressure
of fear upon us, rather than
making a decision that leads to the solution
of the problem, that's causing us
to be afraid.
So, we relieve the sensation
rather than the source.
And that leads to solutions that
are usually short term, because
we're just trying to get out of
feeling bad.
And that ultimately
defeats us, because that problem
is still there.
We just don't feel as bad about
it as we did before.
Everybody and anybody can be caught in that
situation.
It's unpleasant to be in it.
When you're the outsider and
you're looking in at, let's, say,
a friend making that decision,
it's usually very easy to see.
You sit back and go, “Ok, you're
not making the right decision.”
You're making this decision
because you're afraid.
When you're the insider,
you can't necessarily see that it
takes a great deal of effort to
free yourself from fear when you're fully
caught in, and to make the
decision that moves independent
of it (fear).
That's one of the reasons that
when we are caught in, let's,
say, a medical or legal
situation, we hire an outside
expert because we want that
expert to come into that
situation, and they're not
necessarily carrying the burden
of fear that we might be when under
that type of threat.
Now Kung Fu provides us with a
unique opportunity in that we have to deal with the
fears that we bring in from our day to day world,
from all around us.
The fear of failure, the fear of
looking foolish, the fear of
not being good enough,
of not measuring up,
the fear of not being able to
continue with a thing that you've
started, the fear of not being
able to make your livelihood,
the big, long list of things that
a person could possibly bring in
from the outside world.
Now we set goals very systematically,
step by step, goals within practice,
in part so that one-- a person can
achieve successfully,
and two, so that a person can
navigate the fears that they
bring in.
So here's this goal that's just,
let's say, two steps up.
The thing that's in the way is the
baggage that you bring in,
that fear they bring.
You can achieve it.
But the real challenge is
overcoming the fear that prevents
you from achieving that step.
Over time, goal after goal after
goal, step after step,
you overcome fear more and more
often, until overcoming fear
becomes something that you can do,
and that's almost a habit for you
that starts to generalize into
the outside world.
What that means is suddenly you
become willing to address outside
issues that cause you fear.
Suddenly,
when you are seized by something
that could induce fear, you set
it aside and you go, “No, fear,
I'm not going to listen to you
right now.”
And you select options
independent of fear.
It's one of the many benefits
that come from systematic
skilled training.
Remember,
spend a little time believing
in yourself today and
reinforcing that, because it's
important.
