You Can Run But You Cannot Hide, At Least Not From This

Everyone is afraid of something. Some of the things that give us that feeling of doom we can reach out and fight against. Others, we can’t even fathom. To millions and millions of people, one of the world's most influential and evil forces will catch you and swallow you as you scream for help. There’s nothing you can do to escape the dreaded beast. The monster that’s chasing you can be conquered.

Whether superstitious or not, there are real monsters in the world. One of them is an unrelenting apex predator that will come for you when it feels you resist its influence. There is no escaping its grasp, and trying ends badly for the victim.

Unlike Bigfoot, Nessie, Vampires, Werewolves, and all the fabled beasts of the past two centuries, this particular creature has never been photographed, sketched, or even reported in a fashion that is similar enough to warn people. How people see it is always different, powerful, and inescapable.

While inescapable, people still run from this all-powerful force. They try to defeat the beast, much to their displeasure, when they learn they can’t. I was talking to an old cop buddy, and he insisted that the beast has taken a few more victims this year. I have felt the power of this force more than once.

No, I’m not crazy. The fact is, you have been a victim of the beast. We all have, at some point, faced this monster that is so hated by so many. It’ll get us all, swallowing us alive, and it’ll return to drain the life out of us in due time. So, why do we fight against its inescapable power?

To understand that, we need to understand two things. First, what is this power lurking among us and causing us to feel such fear and apprehension? Secondly, why is it so hated? Before we go into those two issues, who or what is it that people have such reason to fear and flee?

In the case of this particular predator, we wouldn’t have much more of a chance of escaping its grasp. However, the mortality rate is slightly better.

“The predator that will get us all, is change.”

-Me

We can run from change. We can hide from change. Change has a way of finding us, no matter how unaccepting we are of its effect on our way of life. There are no ways to avoid change as it is as inevitable as the sun, and just as old. It is a universal constant that has been occurring since the dawn of time.

Why are people so afraid of change?

Fear of Pain, Discomfort, And Effort

One of the most understandable reasons people fear change is an instinctual need to avoid pain, discomfort, and effort.

Anything burdensome will make you feel discomfort, so people fear putting effort into things because they fear pain and discomfort. Pain and discomfort can come in many forms, whether physical, mental, or emotional.

Example: A man who’s been single for 25 years. He’s a decent man, not flawless but not a bad man. He’s above average in looks and charms, yet he fears putting himself truly out there because of past results. He fears that putting in the effort for a relationship will only lead him back to the emotional and mental anguish he recalls the last time he got serious.

“By changing nothing, nothing changes.”

— Tony Robbins

Fear Of Failing

Nobody wants to fail. Failure is scary. Failures can be costly, embarrassing, heartbreaking, life-ruining, and punishing to our self-esteem. People need to succeed to thrive and fearing we can’t thrive is natural if there is any reason in our mind to think it’s true.

Fearing failure comes from a lack of faith. It’s a lack of faith in yourself, your abilities, and your chances to overcome obstacles. Things can seem like mountains when they’re just molehills. Usually, if you think back, we’re the ones that made something a bigger or harder obstacle than it was.

“Failure is an important part of your growth. Don’t be afraid to fail.”

— Michelle Obama

I’ve failed many times, and I will again. Like Thomas Edison, I’ve learned hundreds of ways to do something wrong and was on my way to doing something the right way. When you own your failures, learn from them, get up and try again, you show that no matter what, you have the character to keep trying.

Consider where some people might be if it were not for persevering in the face of failure. J.K. Rowling was rejected 12 times by publishers. Then, someone saw the promise of Harry Potter and decided to publish her first book. Rowling is the wealthiest writer in the world today but had she given up, we might never have seen the phenomenon known as the Harry Potter series.

The fear of failing is the fear of making a change when you look at people’s inner desires. Our inner monologue wants, needs, and desires. We desire to be all that we can. We emulate others. We envy the rich and famous. To go after those goals that seem out of reach, we have to make changes but is failing worth the sacrifice we make to chase those monumental achievements?

Fear of Success

No good deed goes unpunished. It seems oxymoronic, but how could someone be afraid of success?

Success comes with its costs.

1. Additional pressures
2. Additional expectations
3. The additional risk of failure (having further to fall)

Most importantly, after success, you might be different than before. Better, but different. That can be a scary thought. It’s a fear that many successful people had to face and can be debilitating.

Fear of Criticism

Perhaps applying more to people in the public eye, artists, writers, musicians, and creative types, this one is an interesting fear of change. Imagine making it to the big leagues or the NFL. The criticism of riding the bench for the season could be too much.

WWF/WWE Superstar had a dream of playing professional football. He walked away from the world of wrestling to chase his dream, ending up temporarily on the Minnesota Vikings. Lesnar, who is called the APEX Predator in professional wrestling, has held every major title he went after, and was the UFC World Heavyweight Champion, got cut from the Vikings. Lesnar had no fear, and can say what only few can, he played in the NFL.

The fear of criticism by others is real. It’s something that people must overcome before they can change. Would you rather go through life afraid of what others think, or be able to say you gave it your best shot?

You don’t have to be fearless to do the latter, only brave enough to remember to respond to your haters with the expression, “At least I tried.”

Fear of the New and Unknown

People fear things that are new and different. If something is out of their wheelhouse, they are in fear of the change. If it’s unknown, people are fearful and apprehensive. Anything new, different, or mysterious presents fear.

Imagine the world if we succumbed to fears of the unknown, or different, or even new. The Apollo missions would never have occurred. We would never achieve an understanding of our galaxy, sent men into orbit, or landed on the moon. There would be no future missions to put a woman on the moon or boots on mars.

New technology presents new opportunities to explore. When the internet came into our homes, that was a change. Some resisted the change and didn’t want to embrace the computer generation. Computers in the home? Who would have imagined such an accomplishment in the 50s when computers took up an entire room?

Over time, many new and previously unknown things are invented by trailblazers and innovators. Fighting those changes for some is second nature. For others, less so. They are the ones that embrace the change and are better for doing so.

We can all overcome the fear of change. To do so, one needs to look at themselves and admit their fears. Dedicate yourselves to conquering them, one by one. There may be opportunities where conquering fear is thrust upon you. Or, you may have to do the hard work yourself.

As an officer, there was an occasion to face a longstanding fear. A severely injured person in my custody needed an immediate transfer to a hospital. I held two fears for far too long until I was forced to choose between my fears and the needs of another.

I had a long-held fear of heights that was debilitating. I froze on a ladder that was high up, the world below me spinning. An unreasonable fear of crashing made the idea of flying unthinkable. So, flying in a small chopper, pressed against the side in the tightly cramped craft, and looking down 1500 feet as we rocketed across midwestern Illinois, I was forced to overcome my fear.

Not all fears will be solved in a day. It proves that we must take those steps to conquer our fears. Once we face them for the first time, they become easier until no longer afraid. Conquering our fear of change is the same.

Takeaways

When it comes to the monster that is change, it’s alright to be anxious. There are reasons to worry about things that affect our lives. We fear change for five simple reasons.

• Fear of failure
• Fear of Success
• Fear of pain and discomfort
• Fear of being criticized or outcast
• Fear of the unknown or new

We can conquer our fears by tackling them one little step at a time. Whether it's fear we have to conquer in an instant or one we need to for our peace of mind, the change we fear is inescapable, so it’s a better choice if we attempt to conquer the change.

Most importantly, as people who need to grow and thrive, we have to keep fear from holding us back or ruining our lives. The fear of change can’t be a deciding factor influencing our goals and aspirations.

“Your life does not get better by chance, it get’s better by change.”

— Jim Rohn