Why You Should Flex Your Courage Muscles
Why it’s important to face your fears
If you don’t have fears, you probably aren’t human. Everyone has fears, and according to The Washington Post, some of the most common fears include things like public speaking, heights, bugs, and needles. It can be easy when faced with a situation that you’re scared of to back away and convince yourself that there’s no use trying to face it at all, but it isn’t true- facing your fears will bring benefits you won’t see coming.
First, you’ll start to realize what’s real and what isn’t.
A quote from Mark Twain summarizes this point well: “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened”. When you start to face your fears head-on, you will start to realize that these fears aren’t based in reality. Some of the things that you think of as fears might not actually be that bad at all.
For example, think back to the things that you were afraid of as a child. The dark? Certain animals? The dark? You (hopefully!) aren’t scared of these same things now, because you faced that fear and realized that, in the end, there was nothing to be afraid of.
Second, you’ll build your courage up.
We all know those people- the ones that aren’t afraid of anything. The ones that never back away from a challenge. These people take risks and life rewards them for it. I can guarantee you that they were once (or maybe still are) scared of the challenges they’re facing- they’re just able to take a step back and to see the whole picture. That strength and courage doesn’t just happen- it comes from consistently taking on tasks that seem daunting, learning from them, and then taking on a new challenging task.
Not to mention, tackling scary situations also develops your compassion and wisdom for others facing similar situations, your tenacity and resilience, your self-confidence… you get the point.
Third, great things will come of it.
It’s no secret that doing things that scare us can benefit us in the end. For example, I used to be afraid of public speaking, so I never competed in pageants, even though I wanted to. I ended up facing that fear, was named first runner up at Miss Michigan this June, and I’ve received over $8,000 in scholarship money as a result. Maybe for you, this means applying for a job that you don’t think you’re qualified for, and then getting the job, or being brave enough to bring up a creative idea with a client, and having it turn out to be one of your best ideas ever.
Sometimes, though, things don’t turn out the way we want them to. We might fail, we might embarrass ourselves, or lose out on an opportunity. There’s a reason that fear leads to a bunch of ‘what if’ questions in our minds. Even in these situations, you can walk away saying that you learned something. The next time you face a similar situation, you have new knowledge to help you succeed.
The most important thing to note is that your fear isn’t going to disappear until you do the thing that you’re afraid of. Even if you’re terrified to your very core, sometimes you just have to take a note from Susan Jeffers: Feel the fear and do it anyway. Only then will you realize the incredible things that you’re really capable of.
About Sarah:
Sarah Dudinetz (@sarah_dudinetz) is a senior studying advertising and public relations. She is the Podcast Director for GVPRSSA and an Account Associate for GrandPR. In the future, she’d like to pursue theatrical PR. Sarah also competes in the Miss America organization and was first runner up at the Miss Michigan pageant in 2019.