Notes to Self – Creating Shallow Troughs of Fear

“The drowned man is not afraid of the rain” – Turkish proverb

The first time I faced an ultramarathon, I was overwhelmed by fear. The night before the race, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, and I desperately wanted to find a way out of running 100 kilometers. But as the night dragged on, I managed to calm myself and push through to finish the race.

With each subsequent race, I learned that this pre-race fear was normal. I started to expect it—knowing I wouldn’t sleep the night before—and became familiar with the stories my mind would tell me. Over time, the fear remained, but it became manageable, less intense, and shorter-lived.

This experience taught me an essential lesson: exposing yourself to fear makes you more resilient. Just like a muscle, resilience grows through repeated use. When we step into the uncomfortable, face those fear-filled moments, and persist, we become stronger. This concept of building antifragility—thriving under stress—is what I’ve come to embrace.

How Exposure to Fear Builds Resilience:

1. Initial Panic: The first challenge feels overwhelming. You want to retreat, but you don’t.
2. The Trough: As you take action, fear transitions into discomfort. Fear hates action. The body adapts, the mind shifts to solutions, and you become absorbed in the task.
3. Post-Trough Growth: Once you’ve faced fear, it’s no longer as intimidating. You’ve trained your mind and body to handle it, and future challenges feel more manageable.

In life and business, this repeated exposure to fear teaches us to trust our ability to endure, adapt, and overcome. Facing fear might seem daunting, but it’s how we grow.

Strategies for Managing Fear:

• Acknowledge Fear: It’s a natural part of doing hard things. My mantra during ultra-marathons is “relentless forward progress.” Acknowledge the fear, but don’t stop. Keep moving forward.
• Break It Down: When fear feels overwhelming, focus on small steps. In a race, I don’t think about the entire distance—I just aim for the next checkpoint. Sometimes the next 10 mins, sometimes even just the next ten steps.
• Visualize Success: During the toughest moments, I visualize the other side. I see myself overcoming the challenge, celebrating the success and bathing in that amazing feeling of overcoming fear.

The hardest things always lead to the greatest growth. So, seek out challenges, face your fears, and know that each time you do, you’re becoming more resilient, more courageous, and more capable than you ever imagined.