THE POWER OF FEAR: A BITTERSWEET FEELING -

Fear is inevitable, it is how you channel it that matters.

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Whenever we think of fear, we think of an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm.

What if I tell you that fear though bitter as we know, could also be very sweet?

Life as a child
As a kid, I loved spending time with my family and small crowds. Being in very noisy and populated places were generally overwhelming. This, however, wasn’t an issue for me, because I didn’t pay much attention to what my feelings meant. Oh, how I love the innocence of children. All that mattered to me was that I was happier when I was with my family and a few friends. So that’s where I loved being, and when I was there everything felt perfect.

Discovering my Fears.
Growing up as a teenager in an environment where most of my peers loved to explore and be in the limelight, I began questioning myself about things that made me feel different. The greatest being my very reserved nature. One was very popular or cool if, for example, they had a good voice and would sing on stage for everyone to enjoy or perhaps they were the life of the party... It was then I realized I was afraid of crowds and public activities.

Living with my Fears
As a go-to move for most people who are scared of particular things or situations, they tend to avoid them. So that is exactly what I did, avoided crowds and public activities the best way I could.

I remember being called up in the refectory while in high school to make a prayer before our meal. I could feel my whole body trembling, and hear how shaky my voice sounded. You might be thinking “but it was just to make a short prayer”. Truly, “Fear has a large shadow, but he himself is small” - Ruth Gendler.

I really hated how I felt when I was faced with my fears, and wished I was never afraid in the first place. Unfortunately for me, getting into the university made it more difficult to simply avoid public activities because we were often required to carry out presentations for a large number of people (students and lecturers).

Learning from my Fears

Having no choice at this point, I was compelled to start doing something I dreaded “public speaking”. Since I was so afraid, it pushed me to prepare and practice hard before presentations in order to have the courage that beat my fears. One could liken this feeling to how an army trains for a battle with a strong opponent. Since “proper preparations prevents poor performance”, I ended up presenting so well each time. Slowly, my fears began to change from a thing of hatred to a driving force.

Presently, I am not just a very good public speaker, but also very passionate about it. While others might not see its gravity, my fears pushed me to see how big the battle of public speaking is, and thus the great need to conquer.

Now, won’t you like me agree with Bear Grylls that "Being brave isn’t the absence of fear. Being brave is having that fear, but finding a way through it"? Truly, if you understand this, then you’ll realize that it is only natural for us humans to fear; but fear on its own is not a weakness, it is how we react to it that matters.

You can either let fear control how you feel and weigh you down, or you use it as a stepping stone to strive to be the best of you.