People of the world, tell me this - what (or who) is your worst fear? Here’s what I’ve learned about fear – as adults, most of us walk around cloaked in it, whether we know it or not. ALL. OF. THE. TIME. Somewhere along the way, our child-like wonder dissolves into The Sea of Scared Shitless. Good times. We’re scared of what others may think, of what the future holds, what could happen to our kids, going insane, being a burden, pain, mortality, abandonment, not finding meaning in life, imminent death…the list is endless. We live in a state of fear, not trust. It’s this thing called our amygdala…it’s always on guard for our protection. It’s our very own personal alarm system, an inherent defense mechanism, rearing its tiny wee head and scanning the environment for anything that may pose a threat to us. Threat identified? Then game on, baby - it’s fight or flight time. Let’s take the fear of snakes as one example: some would argue that this fear is built in, because hell, snakes can be dangerous. Don’t believe me? Just ask Eve. Others would say that’s a load of crap; if you’re scared of snakes, then you’ve likely had a bad experience with them. If you call being chased around the yard by your brothers who were flinging snakes at your head like their collective lives depended on it a bad experience, then yes, I’ll subscribe. Alas, the nature versus nurture debate continues to wage war.
There’s another type of fear – the fear of the unknown - our mortality, running out of time, the concept of eternity, the thought of something happening to our children that would rob them of life. Here’s the thing though: your fears can often rob you of living your life to the fullest. Where we can, we need to act on our fears because sometimes, circumstances permitting, we can be part of creating a different outcome. If you’re worried about not being a good parent, or not telling your loved ones exactly what they mean to you, then do something about it before it’s too late. Rewire that brain of yours. It is possible - hard as hell, but possible. Live your life in such a way that your fears don’t morph into regrets, because therein lies a completely different kind of fear – the one of knowing that you had the knowledge required to approach life differently and alter the course, but you lacked the perseverance and courage to do so. That one, right there, gives me the shivers.
Here forthwith, are your worst fears.
Death.
One of my kids dying…not knowing if he was
going to make it.
Surviving my children or grandchildren.
Mortality, and the concept of eternity,
terrifies me.
Dying too young and missing out on all the
fun.
A painful, agonizing death.
Snakes.
Not making it back up that hill.
One of my children or spouse leaving this
life before me.
Dying with regret. I don’t want to be on my
death bed saying: “I wish I would’ve…”
That I will lose my kids or my husband. My
Dad died when I was young, so I’m terrified that something will happen to my
husband too. And I have a deep fear of failing but that’s between me and my
therapist.
Being a burden to my family.
Time.
Being old and unable to care for myself. I
can’t stand the thought of it.
Going insane.
My worst fear is to not be here to see my
children grow up.
My worst fear is getting Alzheimer’s like my
Dad did and becoming a burden to my kids and others. The ultimate fear is loss
of memories and moments in time I have locked in my heart.
Burying my far-too-young husband.
Losing my faith.
My worst fear is losing one of my greatest
loves.
Heights. I almost had a panic attack at the
gorge in Colorado last year when I was faced with the possibility of going
across the great abyss in a tiny cart suspended by only a cable.
That I will do something totally stupid and
annoy my children and they will no longer want to visit me.
My parents dying.
Car crash.
I have no fear of dying, I only fear that I
will die and leave no legacy behind. And spiders…those little suckers.
Abandonment.
My worst fear is that my children will lose
me. I would never wish the feelings I’ve experienced since my Dad’s passing on
them. I understand my husband better knowing that he had to go through that
loss as a very young child.
Something bad happening to my children. That,
or something happening to me and them not truly understanding just how much I
love them.
In my efforts to keep the family farm together,
I’m not certain all my children will still talk to each other in years to come.
This is my greatest fear.
Being old with no children of my own.
My worst fear is dying alone or nor
experiencing all that I want to. I sometimes have panic attacks of: “I’m
running out of time!”
Never finding that one person to spend the
rest of my life with and never having someone to start a family with. Also,
losing someone I love scares me to no end.
Disappointing others.
Getting older.
That I will be alone for the rest of my life.
Not alone as in 'I have no friends', but I want to have a life partner, a
husband that I can call my best friend, someone who I can share my life with. I
want to feel loved and accepted for who I am. I dream of living in a home,
sharing meals together, taking family on road trips, and even someone to curl
up with on a Friday night to watch hockey. And yes...I'm even excited about the
fights, arguments, disagreements- all that comes with love and marriage. But I'm
so scared I won’t have it. That I'll be 'the friend/sister/aunt' that lives
alone and whose invited to functions and events simply out of sympathy because
I'm alone.
Drowning.
My worst fear is probably fear itself. And
heights.
To become like my Mom. She prays a lot but is
still full of anger and hurt. I find it hard to be around her.
My worst fear is something awful happening to
my daughter…things I can’t even type, you the know the stuff you read about
that makes you vomit. Or something happening to me too early for her to be able
to deal with.
Losing what I take for granted.
Failing as a parent.
That my children do not feel accepted or
loved.
That at some point in time, those I love will
be the target of pain.
Dying and not having accomplished anything,
or touched anyone in a special way, and being remembered for someone I once was
in my past. I don’t let my past dictate who I am, but it’s part of what I have
become.
Every parent’s worst fear.
That I’ll never truly understand the meaning
of life, nor pursue what I was meant to do to lead a fulfilling one. That takes
a level of courage I’m not certain I possess.
I definitely don’t like being around bats.
Ghost hunting.
My greatest love is my wife. My greatest fear
is my wife.
Screwing up in parenting and not finding the
words that lead the way to truth.
One of my children being abducted – not
knowing where they are, who has them, how scared they are and how much pain
they are in. The not knowing would kill me.
I fear how the world will be for my children
when I am long gone. It already scares me the way it is now.
That people will see me as I see myself. Not
the myself that I put out there…but the myself I see when I am naked alone in
the bathroom or the myself I see when I lay in bed reviewing all the choices I
made and the things I said.
My worst fear is totally unidentified.
Cancer.
Snakes.
My worst fear is my children or grandchildren
becoming incapacitated. My sister became a quadriplegic at a very young age and
I don’t wish that upon anybody. She does remarkably well in her life…it just
makes her life harder.
My worst fear is me.
Fear of failure, as I was unsure of myself
and lacked support from my father as our relationship was completely
dysfunctional. That was then and I can confidently state that his opinion or
anyone else’s has no effect in my decision making process.
This was the one question I was asked during
my cancer treatments and the answer came very easily at the time and remains
the same today. I actually have two - one is causing tremendous pain to my
family if I should die young and the other is the fear of being forgotten.
Being alone and cut off from those I love.
Being forgotten.
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