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How The Experimenter’s Mindset Can Free You From Fear
The magic of cultivating curiosity without attachment
Fear. It’s that other four-letter “F” word. In prehistoric times it prompted us to run from saber tooth tigers. In the modern world, it springs up at inopportune moments.
You feel it every time you pin your hopes, self-worth, and self-esteem on a specific outcome. It’s that sensation of dread the moment before you put yourself in a position where someone might reject, criticize, or dismiss you.
It happens when we submit our work for critique, ask someone out, or request a pay raise. There’s a chance they’ll reject us, and that triggers fear.
So, instead of striking up that conversation, asking for that raise, or sending our work, we hesitate. We engage in self-talk and formulate a justifiable reason for inaction.
“Who am I kidding. I don’t deserve a raise.”
“This isn’t my best work. No sense sending in a certain rejection.”
These convenient excuses are manifestations of fear. It feels like an irrational fear, but it’s not. We derive so much of our self-worth and esteem from outcomes; it’s no wonder we clam up at pivotal moments in our lives.
