We Need Fear in Our Lives

I’m no stranger to fear.

It just might be the emotion I write about the most. I’ve written essays about fear coming up as my mother died, when I do my taxes, and as I run my private practice. I’ve written about fear’s tie to courage and intuition. I’ve even written a letter to fear.

So basically, we’re buddies.

I’ve learned that fear holds a purpose. It points us to what we value and need in life. It alerts us of potential threats to those things.

So I’m grateful that fear exists.

But fear can be an unruly bastard. It can quickly take over my mind and squash creativity if I let it go unchecked.

“Fear” Continuous line drawing by Jackie Schuld

The answer isn’t to banish it. Many self-help books simply want you to act as if it doesn’t exist, with mantras like “I act without fear.” Bullshit. That fear is there and smiling at you from the closet.

So what’s an alternative?

To tend to the fear. To acknowledge it exists and understand why it is present.

For example, sometimes fear comes up with publishing some of my essays. I fear they’ll be taken the wrong way or that I’ll be criticized.

In those moments, I tend to the fear by admitting fear is there and then digging into why it is there. The fear is there because I value my…