Fear is why we Zoo Tiger

You can learn so much from children. My son said something that made me stop today. He got a skateboard for Christmas and had fallen and hurt himself. He was encouraged to get back on and try again. When he did, he said two things:

I told myself I believed I could do it.
Fear is all in the mind.

Fear tends to be something we avoid. It’s easier too. Fear can eat you up and stop you doing amazing things. From the time we are born, as parents we tell our children to be careful. When we start school, society kicks in and we are required to conform – whether it’s sitting still, listening, following rules, learning the right behaviour, learning to be a team player, to sing, dance, play sport. When we go to university or start work, we have learnt behaviours. As we go through our career, we go on a further journey. Every day is a learning path.

Mixed in here we come across things that we become fearful of.

We all face fear throughout our lives. All at different levels.

I listened to this great video by Trevor Ragan, where he talks about fear being why we Zoo Tiger. Every day we’re are faced with a Jungle Tiger moment. Many of us will Zoo Tiger and stay in our comfort zone, but there will be times when we lean-in and face those fears.

Seth Godwin features and says that “your brain is nothing but a chemistry experiment. You can dance with the lizard brain. When it freaks out, you are about to do something brave, bold and powerful. Welcome it and thank it.”

If you get rid of the fear, you can get good at learning and do what you want to do. Dance with the fear and the skill that goes with it.

So, in the words of Trevor Ragan, when has your fear prevented you from learning?