Grasshoppers or Grizzly Bears
Ever been walking in the woods or lying in a tent and you hear rustling in the bushes? You’d swear it’s likely a bear or some other large beast looking for their next meal - which is probably… you! After a brief moment of panic followed by some rational further investigation you discover that the weeds and leaves were just dry and that big scary beast of yours is actually a squirrel or perhaps even a grasshopper. The sounds of their tiny footsteps just amplified by the conditions - and then amplified again in your mind. By that point though, the surge of adrenalin and panic has already coursed through your body, just as it would if your encounter was actually with a big beast. You see, it doesn’t really matter what it was, the only thing that mattered to set off those alarm bells in your body is what you “thought” it was.
We’ve already dipped our toes into the phenomenon of the placebo effect and how what we think or expect to happen plays a big role in our outcomes with various medical interactions and interventions. Our fears and self-imposed limitations kinda work the same way and they often keep us frozen or on high alert. Once we can actually get ourselves moving forward step by step, what seemed like a mountain often turns out to be no more than a small hill. And what we initially thought seemed like a big scary beast, turns out to be a grasshopper. When you feel your body setting up armour and kicking into high gear, try to pause and challenge your mind. In order to get our body to cool its jets we need to also stop the highjacking and amplification coming from the mind.
So how can we expose some fears to allow ourselves to see them for what they really are, rather than just the amplified version we sometimes create in our minds? Allow yourself to imagine the “impossible”. “What if I did that?” Below you’ll find a list of questions, meant to challenge your mind and help you pull back the curtain from whatever is rustling in there and preventing you from enjoying life and all it has to offer you. Perhaps there is something preventing you from making a change you know will be healthier for you, or you feel like you are unable to explore a different way of doing things for fear of the unknown (or what you think is “known”). Now, this is not meant to minimize what your mind is doing right now. Are these fears rationale? You bet they can be! Depending on our past experiences we can have all sorts of reasons why we might amplify some of our fears. Our mind is just working hard to try to protect us after all. But this doesn’t mean we need to give those beliefs more credit than they deserve. Give this exercise a try and see if it helps. Think about a change you want (or need) to make, or something you want to do but it feels like it might be insurmountable. Write out these questions and your answers and then see what it looks like on paper.
Check in with yourself:
-What exactly am I scared of might happen?
-Is that fear a logical one for today or does it seem like it might be getting amplified from the past?
-What is the worst case scenario and if it happened, would it really have a significant lasting impact on me or is it more likely to be just uncomfortable in the moment?
-Is there a small step that you can take towards that change that will allow you a closer look? (Kinda like putting on your headlamp and peeking out of the tent in the direction of the rustle).
-Do you need any tools with you to help you on your mission…just incase? This may be physical items, it may be mental or emotional skills.
-Is there someone you want in your corner while you do your investigation? Maybe it’s a friend, loved one, partner or professional - maybe you’d rather go it alone at first.
You’ve just created a little plan for yourself. Already perhaps you have found that even just writing things down can help calm your mind from swirling and amplifying these fears. Turning down the volume of these thoughts (especially our fears of the unknown and of change), by breaking them down into bite-sized pieces and exposing them for what they are can help us turn down the stress response we feel in our body. And we already know, less stress means less sympathetic nervous system running the show, means less inflammation in the body and puts us in a much better position to thrive rather than just survive.
So next time you hear that rustle in the bushes or the bump in the night and your mind starts playing tricks on you, get out your flashlight and have a better look around, peek behind the curtain. We don’t want to be spending our time running from grasshoppers, just because we “think” they might be a grizzly bears. After all, do you know how many grasshoppers there are out there?!?