FIGHT OR FLIGHT……….
This is a question which naturally comes to mind
whenever you face any adversity…..
The immediate response
will depend on the of kind conditioning which we have undergone or the
environment we relate to……
Whenever we face
difficult situations we tell ourselves “It’s not so bad” and fool ourselves with the hope that our circumstances
will somehow just get better over time and things will just ‘sort themselves
out.’ We come up with excuses for why sticking with the status quo is a
feasible option; why playing safe and not putting ourselves at risk of failing
or looking foolish is ‘sensible.” In reality, things that aren’t working out
well for us now only tend to get worse over time, not better, and issues remain
unaddressed in our relationships and lives tend to grow larger, not smaller
That is, we tend to
focus more on what might go wrong – what we might lose or sacrifice – than what
might go right. Because what we focus on tends to magnify in our imaginations,
it causes us to misjudge (and over-estimate) the likelihood of it occurring.
Yet the reality is that the risk of something not working out is often not near
as high as we estimate and the odds of it working out well, are often far
better.
As we you look back on
your life to date, where do you wished you’d been a little braver, trusted in
yourself more, and been less cautious in the chances you took? In short, you
wished to more courageous in the
situation where you chose the escape path…..
Human beings are
innately risk averse and, when assessing their options, will err toward
caution. During periods of change, when the path ahead is uncertain and future
insecure, our tendency to play safe is amplified…….whenever we are pushed to
tight corner or need to raise our voice … we think too much and as result
rationality creeps in and we decide to be silent or safe …..The other thinking
is that why I should be the one spearheading……. What will happen if things don’t
go my way….I have a family , loans, responsibilities, health issue…….Let
somebody who has none of this initiate ….
Time and again we all have been admiring
courageous , fearless people….watch and read stories but transform our views/actions
in opposite direction when similar circumstances
hit our face…. And justify in the name of being ‘rational’ ,’practical’ and
intelligent….
This is possibly the
biggest hypocrisy….. we all are guilty of displaying…….
So , how does one can
be more fearless, courageous etc etc…..
the answer lies within each of us ….we need not learn this by attending courses, inspirational speeches or meeting people ….it can only be learnt by
being more aware, by stopping to overanalyze and by thinking from your heart
and acting from your mind …..
And mind you, …..we don’t
have to wait for the events to happen …we can simply demonstrate in our behaviors,
the way we bring our children, the way we conduct
professional lives…
End of the day … these
actions will cumulative build a better, meaningful and
happy society …..so don’t wait ….. start
…..NOW!
