Fuck Everything And Run

For me, the program has been a lot about identifying and removing unnecessary fear and anxiety. When you’re anxious or fearful about an event – you all of a sudden have to deal with two problems – the anxiety ABOUT the event and then the actual event itself. It’s cliche, but the whole ‘act your way into a new way of thinking’ is the best weapon against said anxiety (for me). I remember that I was FLOORED when I found out that the vast majority of performance artists (beyonce/etc.) get butterflies in their stomachs before a show. The fact that they get anxiety and then act in the face of it is inspiring. Imagine if Beyonce were huddled in her dressing room, terrified of going out on stage – Personally, I’d identify with her fear, and couldn’t really blame her. However, since she acts in the face of such fear, she commands respect.

also, I have heard a number of interesting perceptions about fear – one is like “My body can’t tell the difference between afraid and excited” – this makes sense, because fear can be exhilarating – Imagine a rollercoaser. The next line I heard was “fear makes it so that all of your resources are deployed”. I liked that one a lot as well, because it’s, well, fucking true. The heightened cognitive awareness produced as a result of ‘fear/exhilaration’ is definitely an asset! If you use the adrenaline and other chemicals to fuel an internal demolition squad, you can do that. Or you can act in the company of fear, acknowledging it as a tentative friend – one who has burned you before (alcoholism), and one who has definitely helped you as well (think job interviews).

The thing is that it’s a basic fight-or-flight reaction neurochemically is rather liberating. Once you acknowledge that your brain releases the same “BE ON POINT NOW, FUCKER” chemicals independent of context, you can start to understand that the fear can be harnessed based on perception. It can paralyze you… or, like a Mother LIFTING A FUCKING CAR, it can help.

I have no doubt that the Mom’s in the “car-lifting” stories were absolutely terrified during the whole thing. Just my 2 cents