Latest / insyed; cozy psychology / The other side of fear

Transcript

The other side of fear · insyed; cozy psychology

• 0:00
  Welcome back to INSyed, I'm Syed. And every week,
• 0:03
  I take real academic research and bring it closer
• 0:06
  to the life we're actually living. Like a diary
• 0:09
  that did psychology. Let's take a peek, INSyed.
• 0:16
  The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is
• 0:19
  fear. And the oldest and strongest kind of fear
• 0:22
  is the fear of the unknown. H .P. Lovecraft.
• 0:26
  How do you feel when you get scared? It's one
• 0:28
  of, if not the most important elements to what
• 0:31
  makes something horrifying, the unknown. Do you
• 0:34
  remember how you'd run up the stairs after turning
• 0:37
  the lights off when you were younger, trying
• 0:39
  to outrun the dark? No matter how much you tell
• 0:41
  yourself, you didn't do it just because it was
• 0:44
  fun, but because you were afraid. Who knew our
• 0:47
  own home, something so familiar, could turn so
• 0:50
  scary once we don't know what's lurking in the
• 0:53
  shadows? It's human nature to be anxious when
• 0:56
  we don't know what's going to happen, but it
• 0:58
  doesn't mean that we're lost. Fear can only exist
• 1:01
  with uncertainty, but what most people forget
• 1:04
  is that with uncertainty, hope can form as well.
• 1:08
  We are the ones who choose how we perceive things.
• 1:10
  This is the basis of cognitive reframing. The
• 1:13
  idea that by stepping back, changing our perception,
• 1:16
  we can turn negative thoughts into good ones.
• 1:19
  Like wearing a dirty pair of glasses. To reframe
• 1:22
  would be to wipe away the dirt. the anxieties,
• 1:25
  the fears of what the future holds. It would
• 1:27
  be like choosing between painting with mud or
• 1:29
  with color. We can either be afraid of the future
• 1:32
  or hope for the best. So how is it that both
• 1:36
  fear and hope can be so similar? In an analysis
• 1:40
  of the two done in 2010, it was pointed out how
• 1:43
  fear and hope both share the ability to steer
• 1:46
  our thinking. Simply entertaining the likelihood
• 1:49
  of something happening increases how much space
• 1:51
  it takes in our mind. They were both found to
• 1:54
  be motivators as well. One towards something,
• 1:57
  another away. So if what we focus on gets better
• 2:00
  control of our mind, how can we hack that to
• 2:03
  our advantage? We'll take a short break here.
• 2:05
  Maybe sit with that for a moment. Welcome back.
• 2:10
  On a personal note, I was worried that my work
• 2:12
  wouldn't stick. Especially as I pursue a master's
• 2:16
  in psychology. I was worried that all I'm doing
• 2:19
  is wasting my time. Wasting myself. I could be
• 2:23
  doing anything else. Maybe people would see my
• 2:26
  passion project, this podcast, my essays, as
• 2:30
  cliche, uninteresting, or just brushed off to
• 2:33
  the side. What if it all would be for nothing?
• 2:36
  This mindset stuck with me for a bit. I was on
• 2:39
  the brink of giving up. Until one day, on a cold
• 2:42
  Tuesday night, I was at my desk when I came across
• 2:44
  this social media post with a simple but powerful
• 2:47
  message. What if I fall? What if you fly? This
• 2:52
  message lit something inside of me. Not only
• 2:54
  was there hope that things would work out, but
• 2:56
  there was also this new sense of fear I never
• 2:59
  knew I had. I was afraid that I'd miss out on
• 3:02
  this opportunity to build the future I want.
• 3:05
  Somehow, hope and fear were working together
• 3:08
  to inspire me. Hope is a feeling that pushes
• 3:11
  us towards something. Fear drives us away. Despite
• 3:15
  how these two seem at odds with each other, they
• 3:17
  can coexist. It's all about what we choose to
• 3:21
  see. To those listening, I've put a table in
• 3:23
  this week's essay available on Substack that
• 3:25
  maps this out if you want to see it visually.
• 3:28
  It's a common saying how inside each of us are
• 3:31
  two wolves. The one that wins is the one you
• 3:33
  feed the most. Maybe we can feed both. By reframing
• 3:38
  our fears, we can combine these ideas to propel
• 3:40
  us even further to what we want to achieve. Whether
• 3:43
  it's hope or fear, you're still looking at the
• 3:46
  same thing. Something that matters to you. So
• 3:49
  I invite you to open your heart and try and do
• 3:51
  what you've always wanted to do. Have hope that
• 3:54
  things will work out. And if anything at all,
• 3:56
  I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss out on the
• 3:58
  chance at trying. Because we aren't bound to
• 4:00
  a single path to success or happiness. If God
• 4:03
  wills it, each one of us will find a way. Do
• 4:06
  yourself a favor and keep an open mind. For as
• 4:09
  long as there is a tomorrow, the best is yet
• 4:11
  to come. Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best
• 4:14
  of things. And no good thing ever dies. Shawshank
• 4:18
  Redemption. And that brings us to the end of
• 4:30
  this week's insight. Thank you for spending your
• 4:32
  time here. If something today stayed with you,
• 4:34
  the best way you can support is to share it with
• 4:36
  someone it may reach. You can also follow this
• 4:39
  show wherever you listen. And if you have a moment,
• 4:42
  leaving a review genuinely helps more people
• 4:44
  find us. Until next week, Remember that there's
• 4:47
  always more INSyed.