Use the magic of fear
I walk Dexter in the morning.
Dexter is five years old. When my daughter picked him up next to a busy highway, he was a tiny, abandoned four-month old puppy. He has grown into a medium-sized doggie and is a cherished member of our family.
Dexter gets nervous on our morning walks, especially of small dogs. He freezes with fear when they start yapping at him. The fierce, ferocious ones also bring him to a complete standstill.
Unaware of his distress, I walk on and even get a bit irritated by this seemingly irrational fear. He only gets moving again when he realises that I have left him behind. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him gather his courage and he rushes past the small dangers towards me. It is much more frightening to be left behind than to conquer his fear of other dogs.
What Dexter has taught me
Our morning walks have taught me that fear mobilises you when you have something bigger to lose. When Dexter must choose between being chased by a white woolly monster and losing me, he conquers his one fear to make sure the other bigger fear doesn’t happen.
I recently had to face a huge fear: Making a decision that would change my life forever. My vision for my life has expanded and my values have shifted. I am also at a certain stage in my life and I have realised that it is time for a change, but I have been scared witless. Fear is freezing me.
However, I have learned from Dexter that if I don’t break free from this one fear, a bigger fear will realise. And so, I have decided that it is time to let go and move on. It is time for change. In the decision-making process, I have faced more fears than what I thought possible, but I have pushed through and taken a massive step forward.
