Where the mind is without fear

In his inaugural address FDR, the 32nd president of United States famously said

" We need to fear nothing, but fear itself"

It was a memorable speech, that immediately catapulted the president's stature and brought hope to an entire nation suffering from the throes of the great depression. Overnight the mood of the nation changed. That is the power of speech.But that is the power of fear, which is a malady that can stop an entire country from pulling itself out of misery.

Darr ke Aagay Jeet hai (Victory lies beyond fear)

Fear is a powerful force. And its not only presidents who have become popular by calling to rise above it. Mountain Dew in its famous 2009 commercial tagline "Darr ke aage jeet hai" (Victory lies beyond fear) was an instant hit, and is remembered even today. Of course, it also led to a number of memes

Nevertheless coming to the point, Fear for us is very real, and while taglines and speeches do sooth worrying hearts, the real victory has to be sought from within.We know that it is a powerful and primitive human emotion. Fear kept our ancestors sharp and alive.

As the society has progressed now the Fear of job loss, Fear of public speaking, Fear of rejection, Fear of being judged, Fear of Social stigma and tonnes of other fears in shapes and sizes decide an average person's daily life.

Its also not constant. You might fear something today, but exposed to it a number of times, you might build resistance.

So through your life you go from simpler fear to a more nuanced ones.You begin your life fearing unknown things, then strangers, then grades, Job loss, losing face to death itself.

"Our mental maturity is simply a function of what we fear. As you mature, your fears get more nuanced, and the wisest of us even stop fearing death itself"

That is why an adult scared of a mouse, might look funny to us. Because that is regressive. Mouse is not life threatening. Only kids are scared of a mouse. If an adult shows the behavior of a kid, its regressive and therefore funny.

On the other hand, fear also creates an adrenaline response, which is a different kind of a high and is the reason behind all the extreme sports and horror flicks and scare houses and Ferris wheels.

Cost of Fear

It is well known that the famous actor Shahrukh Khan has refused to take on any movies where he might have to work with Horses. He is simply afraid of them.

Its not just celebrities. People like you and me change the entire course of their lives out of fear. I know of people who missed out on growth opportunities and refused accept job offers as it involved flying too often.

These might be extreme cases. But there are subtle variations too. Brilliant professionals take a career hit by avoiding being in the limelight, or claiming credit for work they have done, or present their ideas as it will involve speaking in public.

I personally know an intelligent woman leader, who would refuse public speaking sessions on subjects she is an authority on, because she has stage fright. As a result, her peers who don't match up professionally on subject knowledge keep getting in the limelight and bag associated opportunities.

This seems irrational, but we humans are irrational decision makers by letting a simple fear prevent you from becoming all you can be.

Its not just individuals. Governments and bureaucracies shy away from important policy decisions fearing public backlash, and entire nation suffers. On the other hand human history is peppered with stories of leaders who created fear, both real and imagined to keep populations in check.

Managers use it to push employees into desired action and parents use it to keep children in line.

Getting beyond fear

Getting the best of your fears is almost getting control of your mind. Most solutions out there require a little more commitment than chugging a bottle of Mountain dew.

1. Accept your fear: Your decision to overcome fear can only start if you understand what you fear and accept it. Denial will keep you from working and getting rid of it.
2. Understand its costs: Looking at what your fear is costing you is something that will help you reason on how severely you need to get rid of it. I was recently watching the film "Trapped" in which the actor's survival is jeopardized due to his fear of a mouse. Gradually he is able to overcome it and many others and finally able to survive.
3. Overcome Physiological response:For severe out of control fear response where your body gets into the "Fight or Flight" mode, Getting control of your emotional state by controlling your rate of breathing is the best way out. If your breathing is relaxed, entire body and mind gets signaled to relax.
4. Distract Yourself: Distract yourself by happy thoughts, looking elsewhere, thinking of a problem, counting sheep and others work if you are feeling uncomfortable because of fear.
5. Face your fear: One of the universally agreed solutions is keep facing your fear again and again, and you will develop resistance to it.

The Ultimate solution : Creative Visualization / Guided Imagery

If you have met me and talked in depth, at some point or other i would have talked about this awesome concept popularized by Shakti Gawain in 1970's called Creative Visualization.

(Above image copy right Shakti Gawain)

The theory is simple.

Close your eyes. Control your breathing. Go into a semi meditative sleep, and then just bring up an image of what you want in your mind.

Learning to do this takes a lot of self control and practice. But if you are able to do it, you will have a powerful tool.

From here on, use this to get familiar with things that you fear. Take off on a plane in your mind or tear that mouse into shreds.

Once you do this a number of times, when you actually face that fear, the response will be completely neutral. Because using your imagination, you would have acclimatized yourself to the situation without putting yourself in any real harm.

With all fads, this technique came, spread and was gone. But that doesn't mean that the technique is weak. Its just that as Shakti has aged, this technique has lost its evangelist, and most others have made it into something it was not supposed to be.

But read the original book called "creative visualization" and you can really do a lot of stuff that you thought was not possible.

Conclusion

I possibly cannot close this article without the importance leaders and poets have used to use fear to push people into doing something, or bringing out people from the fear like the way FDR did.

I think the most notable of such writing was by Rabindranath Tagore, who along with India's national anthem also penned this wish for how India should be. And guess how the wish starts for his nation ?

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high.

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls

Where words come out from the depth of truth

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit

Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

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( Image owned by respective copy right owners, Mountain Dew, Shakti Gawain, )

The views expressed in the article are my own and don't reflect the views of any of my employers present or past.