A recent article in the Feb/March issue of the AARP magazine describes Georgiette Morgan-Thomas a dynamic 71-year-old woman who sees a need and fills it.
When Georgiette can’t find a particular hat that she likes because the manufacturer has shut down their shop she decides to buy the shop and put all the employees back to work, learning the ropes as she goes.
Georgiette’s motto seems to be: “This is what happens when you’re not afraid.”
According to the National Institute of Mental Health: 90% of the things that we fear are considered to be insignificant issues. 88% of the things we fear in relation to our health will not happen. 74% of people fear public speaking.
So, whatever your fear, it comes in many shades and sizes. Fear can be uncomfortable and crippling but eliminating it would be the equivalent to taking down your home alarm system because it sometimes makes loud and irritating sounds according to Theo Tsaousides, Ph.D. in his article – Smashing the Brainblocks.
Research indicates that networks in our brain are stimulated when fear is detected, even in the absence of a real fearful stimulus. The capacity to be afraid is part of being human.
Fear can be healthy and get you out of potentially harmful situations. We sometimes learn fear because of our past association with certain people or situations that have hurt us.
The cycle of fear can feed on itself – the scarier I feel the scarier it becomes. It seems as though the environment is amplified with ‘scare‘ – you will sweat even though your boss calls you in simply for an uneventful meeting.
Fear can also be your call to action. It can open your eyes, clear your head of ‘cobwebs’ and set your feet in a front-setting direction.
Take an example from Georgiette Morgan-Thomas the Hat Boss and maybe you will not be afraid and ‘open a hat shop of your own someday.’