Learning from Felix: Facing and Dealing with Fear

What’s the deal with procrastination? What’s the deal with things like writers block and

performance block in athletes? Well if you read the title up above, you’ve probably guessed what

I’m going to say. And you know what? - a lot of experts agree with me! General opinion is that

the thing that keeps most of us from reaching our full potential is fear of failure.

That’s understandable. Failing at something can be deeply demoralizing, especially if it’s

something you really, really care about. The more you love something, the scarier it is to think of

failing. That’s why there isn’t really any such thing as “fear of grocery shopping” or, “fear of a

temporary part-time job.”

How about this…  Have you ever held a grudge against someone you really care about? Or had a

friendship fade away because you couldn’t work things out? What is it that keeps us from

repairing those relationships? Yeah, you know my theory. It’s fear. Fear of being vulnerable and

honest, not only with someone else, but with ourselves! Think about it. If I stay mad at someone

forever, I only have to think about what they did wrong, and never about what I might have done

wrong.

Felix wasn’t feeling great about himself when he couldn’t make himself into a firefly. He wasn’t,

in his mind, the best he could be. But in the end Felix didn’t let that stop him from doing what he

knew was right, and what he knew needed to be done, even if he was afraid. Sometimes we can

feel so overwhelmed by fear that we’re frozen. We can’t get anything done. But deep down, we

know what’s right, and we can see things in the world that need our attention, and people that

need our help. Felix was able to overcome his fear by focusing on the needs of others, and in the

process he found what was beautiful about himself.

I’m sure we’ve all heard over and over again things like, “face your fears head on,” and “don’t

let fear of failure get in your way.” Yeah… ok. That’s easy to say, but maybe we should try some

new tactics? I like Felix’s example. Focusing on the needs of others can help us gain perspective.

It can help us realize that we aren’t the only ones struggling. It can help us realize that we have

special talents that can help other people, and they have special talents that can help us.

And remember, feeling afraid is ok! It happens to everybody.