The past six months, I’ve been facing the scaries.
I didn’t realize I had them.
They are worse than fear because they hide.
We can face our fears.
We can’t face our scaries until we know they exist.
I now recognize some of the signs that scaries are lurking.
My Observations
Here are the activities that note a scary may be lurking for me:
I procrastinate.
My introverted tendencies strengthen.
I go into my CliftonStrengths safe zone.
Specifically, into my top domain of strategic thinking.
My input, learner, and ideation themes go into overdrive.
Strategic starts to plan all different kinds of things.
However, I’m just thinking…..I’m not doing.
I start to pretend work.
Checking email.
Organizing files.
Just like we can’t eliminate fear, we can’t remove the scaries.
They are there to protect us.
While fear can be tied to physical harm, scaries are often protecting our emotions.
They don’t want us to feel bad.
To be criticized.
Rejected.
Feeling like we don’t fit in.
The Cure
There isn’t a quick cure for the scaries.
However, if we can recognize our tendencies when we are having them, we can work through.
We can push ourselves to do the things we have been avoiding.
Often, we feel relieved on the other side.
We feel accomplished.
And most of the time, the thing we were afraid was going to happen doesn’t.
Your Turn
Are you sometimes held back by your scaries?
What is a cue for you that you are avoiding a scary?
Do you have an approach you take to shake you out of the scaries?