Courage and fear are like day and night.
You cannot appreciate one without the other
– Ronit Baras
We all like watching “Heroes” on TV and reading books about strong or creative people who have done things others did not expect them to do. Hearing, reading about or meeting such people is very motivating. Heroism is the courage to face fears, therefore fear and heroes go together.
Fear is a basic human emotion that works like a survival instinct. In a sense, fear helps protect us from danger, though it has reached a point where we see danger even in places where it does not exist.
People have fears of speaking, fears of learning, fears of small insects or other people and the most famous one of all, fear of failure. Unlike the fear instinct, which is programmed in people to keep them alive with the “fight or flight” response, none of these fears represent a survival mechanism – no one has ever died from speaking in public, or broken their tongue by learning a new language, huge spiders exist only in movies, mice are terrified of people, even when they stand on a chair, and failure is just an expression of strong disappointment. Heroes are not those who do not fear, but those who conquer their fears.
Heroes everywhere
Heroes are a great inspiration. How many heroes surround you? If you are thinking of someone who has climbed Mount Everest, someone who has made millions of dollars, someone who has won a special prize or someone who has led a country to victory, you will not find too many of them.
If heroes are those who conquer their fears, everyone is a hero and YOU are a hero too.
When you go for a job interview, you are a hero, boldly facing your prospective employer. When you study something new, you are a hero, bravely struggling with challenging knowledge. When you say what you think, you are a hero, courageously standing up to your peers. When you love someone, you are a hero, laying your heart on the line. Because interviews, learning, self expression and romance all come with uncertainty.
If you are a parent, you are a real hero, because you are in a continuous test. You learn, you express yourself and you show your love every day of your life and with it comes a great, great fear of the unknown. Children see their parents as great heroes most of their lives. They are strong, they know a lot and they save their kids time after time from pain and failure.
Adolescence is not an easy time, because this is when we have to come to terms with the fact that our heroes have fears and sometimes fail too. Growing up is realising we have to face our own fears and no external source can do it for us, which means that growing up requires great courage.
Even heroes have the right to bleed
And it’s not easy to be me
– from Superman by Five for Fighting
The greatest heroes of all are the heroes that are true to themselves. My book Be Special, Be Yourself for Teenagers is a tribute to such heroes in my life – parents and kids, teachers and friends who have motivated me and many others to succeed in life and conquer our fears.
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
In this wonderful quote, Emerson set the bar for heroism, one that can be much higher than climbing a physical mountain. We can all stay true to ourselves even if it means others will be disappointed, even if it means it will take time and even if it means we will be different.
There’s a hero
If you look inside your heart
You don’t have to be afraid
Of what you are
– from Hero by Mariah Carey
Just like fears keep us alive, they can become stepping stones to climb up. You can conquer them by doing just a little bit more or surrounding yourself with heroes, including the one in the mirror.
And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you’ll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you
– from Hero by Mariah Carey
Life is a journey to an unknown destination. We all take a path we have never taken and uncertainty is an integral part of going forward. You can chase all of your fears, but first you have to know them. Start with a list of fears and set your mind to conquering them one at a time. You can!
If you need some guidance or support with your fears, contact us.
If you have succeeded, tell us about it.
If you liked this article – stumble us.
If you like songs, listen to Mariah Carey’s song, Hero.
Read this post by Tim Brownson.
And please forward this article to any person that you think needs some motivation.
Happy 2008,
Ronit Baras
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