the false positive of fear

The English language has a ton of expressions that aim to alleviate fear:

  • Let the chips fall where they may
  • What happens happens
  • This too shall pass

The advantage of these phrases is they introduce the element of control, and specifically suggest that part of whatever is happening is outside our control. However until we address the sense of fear head on, we’ll render these phrases to be meaningless.

The part that we often miss is that fear is telling us something. The key is to sort out whether it’s indicating there’s an actual danger in the situation or just a false positive (a new situation/experience disguised as danger).

Most situations are false positives, but regardless, the fear indicates that some level of safety is absent and that some part of the situation needs more attention.