Are you afraid of the dark?

It's an interesting word, fear.

fear   /fɪər/   noun

1. a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. 

2. a specific instance of or propensity for such a feeling:
3. concern or anxiety; solicitude
4. reverential awe, especially toward God:
5. something that causes feelings of dread or apprehension; something a person is afraid of

Everyone is afraid of something. Heights, dogs, flying, the dentist, the dark, small spaces, public speaking, you name it. I'm sure there isn't one thing on this planet that isn't feared by someone.

I can tell you my fears: the dentist, bugs, spiders, snakes, the people in costumes and amusement parks, medicine cabinents.

Yes, I'm afraid of medicine cabinents. I'll set the scene for you. A young woman walks into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She opens the medicine cabinent to get her tooth brush and tooth paste and closes it. BOOM! There is a person standing behind her. She screams and turns around, nothing's there. Oh, she writes it off as her imagination, she must be tired. She should get more sleep. So she brushes her teeth, la la la, and opens the cabinent back up to but her stuff in there. She closes it. BOOM! That person is there again. This time when she turns around, he's still there. And she is murdered.

That scene, or something like it, is in so many horror movies, it's ridiculous. The first time I saw it, I never wanted to have a medicine cabininet ever. But then what do my parents do, they get one for my bathroom.

Talk about terrifying. Every time I went to close it, I closed my eyes. It's still kind of scary, though I know the fear isn't warrented.

Two of my biggest fears, though, aren't tangible: change and failure. Who isn't afraid of failing? Being a disappointment? Deciding to do something but then be so bad at it, you're ashamed? That's terrifying. But that fear can also hold me back. I decide not to do something because I'm afraid I might fail, I miss the opportunity to learn something from it.

You know that saying, learning from your mistakes? I can't do that because I'm afraid to make mistakes. It stinks. Royally.

And the fear of change can be crippling. The two of them combined don't really go well.

But I think the best medicine for fear is to just try it. I'm not saying I'll be going to a snake farm and make friends with a python, but maybe just try to not be so freaked out if I see a spider. Maybe I'll go to an amusement park and shake hands with a person in a costume. Maybe I'll go to the dentist and NOT have a panic attack (that would be nice, panic attacks aren't fun). Or maybe I'll try something different, even if I think I'll be bad at it.

I just can't let my fear hold me back anymore. It's time to stop being such a baby, "grow a pair", and get over it. 

"Never be afraid of trying something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic." -Unknown

"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear on the unknown." -H.P. Lovecraft

"Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conqure fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy." -Dale Carnegie

What are you afraid of?