Comments on: Book Review: Conquering Fear

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:46:55 +0000

^^^^
I’m not an expert, but I would guess that facing fear in one area would give you more confidence to handle fear in another area. I guess the pitfall is if you decide to go bungee-jumping and the strap breaks.

By: jasin simms

jasin simms — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:13:49 +0000

i wanted to ask a question relating to conquering fears through adventure activities. Is it possible for people to push their life to a new level by participating in an activity that is outside of a persons natural comfort zone? If so would the relative feeling of excitment and empowerment allow a person to push aside anxiety and fear in all aras of their lives? Are ther any pittfalls to participating in such activities and would people look at this as an effective thing to do in their past time in order to enhance their lives?

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:47:54 +0000

^^^^^
Because we are the only animals that can imagine what’s going to happen. A dog can’t think about what he’s going to do next month, let alone worry about who’s going to take care of his family after he’s gone. Foresight means we can plan for the future, but the cost is anxiety about the future.

By: Jeff in OKC

Jeff in OKC — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:51:27 +0000

I just can’t stop myself. Why do we think humans are the only animals that fear the future?
The book sounds very interesting. In fact, I am thinking about reading it based solely on your review. That is high praise, sir.

By: EW1951

EW1951 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:32:56 +0000

Fear is a very deep subject. Maybe it’s the most prevailing human emotion, force or motivation of all of them.

Having money cures many fears. A jackpot provides a lot of ammunition against various opposing forces. In a way, casinos provide people with the hope (or potential) to fight against various fears. Money-Fears can be quite frightening.

Adults worry about money fears…or health, loss and death fears.

Around 1980 I read a list of the Top Ten Things That Children Fear. I was surprised to find out that Kids’ Number One Fear is of “People”. I’d have thought that kids feared things like monsters, heights, the dark…etc…more than they’d fear people.

Us adults sometimes view fear completely different than our kids do. I used to fear one of my uncles (at family get-togethers). He reminded me of a big brahama bull.

Kids fear “people” for various reasons…and not always just for reasons involving physical ‘danger’. Kids fear people and their power to mimic or ridicule or to place them into an unwanted spotlight of attention.

It’s always good to try understanding kids’ fears.

I remember when I was about four years old. My mom would take me with her to J.C. Penny’s Department Store. She would say “Erik, let’s get on the elevator”. I used to say “NO!!” and I would run up the stairs to meet her on the 2nd floor. All that time my mom simply thought I was afraid of elevators themselves. Elevators didn’t bother me at all. I was simply confused by the word ‘elevator’. To me, the word sounded like “alligator”.

I was afraid of “alligators” and it used to really scare me that my mother would so eagerly hop into an “elevator” to go visit an “alligator”. I thought she must be kind of crazy to do that.

If your kids are ever in fear about something…it’s good to try to understand their logic behind what their fear actually is. They usually have good reasons behind the things they fear.