When Fear Becomes A Prison

How often have you had a pang of fear in your guts when faced with something that you find threatening as you do not know it?

Fear of the unknown threat, terror or unmapped future becomes so often stagnating that its effect is like imprisonment. As you do not know what you are up against you allow your fear to take over your rational thinking, emotions and renders you without a constructive defense.

Your defense becomes more of an instinct based defense without a plan or a foresight. It´s so easy to fall into the trap of non-reaction and then a blind reaction.

What can be done?

Look at the co-creator of the situation, normally it takes two to create such situation, whether it's two persons, companies or nations. Ask yourself who you are up against? What is the face of the persons or persons? Try to avoid falling into the trap of seeing the opposition as something undefinable or something dehumanized in any way.

When you understand the psychology of what makes the opposition tic, then it's easier to define the methods to reach the person or persons.

We are all human beings dreaming of a better world. It's just a different approach we see. When we find the similarities it's easier to find ways to join us and connect us. The large problems become smaller and manageable. The great undefinable threat breaks down into manageable pieces.

Don't allow your own to fear stop you!

In my years in Sweden and also here in Iceland I have often come across people that are frightened of fugitives from other countries, that they will take away the jobs and the good lives that they are so used to.

Here in Iceland we had a small group of Vietnamese fugitives at the time of the Vietnam War that ended in 1975. They came here with nothing except the clothes on their back. I remember hearing people say that they were here only to live off the system. But they were shamed by what our guests (that later became Icelandic citizens) did.

The Vietnamese people started up businesses after working hard to compile the starting capital and created jobs not only for themselves, but also for Icelanders.

Today they are a respected part of our community and enrich the Icelandic society. It took the doubters some time to see, but once they got to know those people there was no returning back to the old wrong and uneducated beliefs!