Would you quit your job and go for a better one or even your dream job? Would you go on a trip of months with few resources?
These and many other questions would be answered much more easily if we weren't afraid, wouldn't we? Many of us live a routine life of work, studies among others and sometimes we can't see other possibilities. Whether out of comfort or fear.
The master psychologist from USP — University of São Paulo — Juliana Ferrari talks about fear:
“Fear is a sensation as a result of the release of hormones, such as adrenaline, which cause an immediate acceleration of the heartbeat. It is a response of the organism to an aversive stimulation, physical or mental, whose function is to prepare the subject for a possible fight or flight. Before feeling fear, a person experiences anxiety, which is an anticipation of alertness. Among other physiological reactions in relation to fear, we can mention the dryness of the lips, the blanching of the skin and involuntary muscle contractions, such as trembling.
In some cases, the organism overreacts to fear, causing this alert state, beneficial in many moments of life, to become a pathological state, when fear becomes a phobia. THE phobia it is an anticipation of fear or anxiety. Its most important characteristic is the commitment of the relationship that the subject establishes with the world around him. In the case of phobia, fear does not prepare the individual to decide between fighting or fleeing, it paralyzes him, prevents him from relating to the object of his fear.”
It is natural to feel fear in the face of doubts in our life., because it is also a form of protection and self-defense, but it is important to understand our weaknesses - including fear - so that they do not become the main point of our life, preventing us from taking new paths and opportunities.
Controlling and overcoming fear is the case of publicist Lysiane Fonseca, who got to know oriental culture even in the face of the fear she felt if something went wrong: “Many people had asked me, during all the previous months of preparation and planning, if I hadn’t fear. I asked, afraid of what? 'Of getting lost, fear of going to a strange place alone where no one speaks your language, fear of getting sick and not having anyone to help you, fear of being robbed, of losing your passport, fear of feeling very alone, of lose all your students' and so on.
They even asked me if I wasn't afraid of being raped. Obviously, some of these things crossed my mind, but they didn't really frighten me. Perhaps a certain apprehension, but nothing that would be able to paralyze me and prevent me from traveling. My fears were different, too personal to be mentioned here, but I can assure you that they were just as or more frightening.”
She says that she went through some difficulties on her trip to China, such as, for example, communication difficulties and having gotten lost from the hotel where she was staying. She says that, even in the face of her fear and difficulties, it was a pleasant and unforgettable trip:
“But, no, it wasn't a difficult journey either. Like my life, my journey was easy and light, at least by my standards. I made great and true friends, whose ages range from 5 to 75 years old. Jessica, the Chinese girl from the Tai Chi school, was a breath of fresh air in such a strange country for me. We didn't understand a word the other was saying, but we spent hours playing and understanding each other in the company of Tom, the beautiful and romantic Frenchman who also lived there and risked a few words in Mandarin serving us as interpreter in the most critical moments.
Mr. Nagayama, my companion on the Camino de Santiago, taught me that the Japanese can be and are, yes, very loving, even if they have a very discreet way of expressing it. He also taught me to be more of a warrior and not to give up on what I set out to do. They, as well as the many other friends I made during these five months, taught me that it is easy and possible to learn to love people even in such a short period of time and with whom we have little, if any, in common.”
This is one of countless examples that fear is part of us, but we cannot make it the central axis that permeates everything in our lives. Something important to overcome fear and seek more and more dreams and goals is to allow yourself. When you break free from the chains of your life's limitations, a major step was taken towards the make your dreams come true.
And then the answer to the title will be answered not only with words, but also with attitudes.
Text written by Bruno da Silva Melo from the Eu Sem Fronteiras Team
