Fear vs. excitement
My grandparents lived close to an Air Force base when I was a kid.
When the planes would pass over, it would be crazy-loud. Scary loud.
I was so afraid of them.
The way a dog is afraid of the vacuum cleaner.
Or the way a kid is afraid of the flushing toilet sucking them in. (Wait! Was that just me?)
So, the planes. The noise. The hugeness of them.
They flew so low, so close to the house.
One day, when I was 7 years old, I was outside playing in the front yard alone when a plane flew over. Screeching. So close. So low. I squinted up at it.
It was directly above the house, above the ’50s-era TV antenna, and I swear, I swear they cut the engines and the plane stopped in mid-air.
No joke.
The plane was friggin’ stopped in mid-air RIGHT ABOVE my grandparents’ house. It was going to fall straight down and kill us all.
My heart leapt into my throat.
I ran screaming into the house to find my grandma before we all got crushed to death by this huge plane that had just stopped above our house.
We lived.
The plane went by.
I’m a scaredy-cat.
So maybe what I saw was them throwing on “the brakes” just before landing. Maybe I was so afraid I was in a child-induced, time-warp-sort of thing where I blinked and thought minutes had gone by but it had only been a second.
Who knows.
All I know, is from that moment on, I was terrified of “large things” above or near me — sounds dirty. Ha. No.
I mean, I don’t like low-flying aircraft.
I don’t like riding my bike past a looming municipal water tower (I’m thinking of you, Davis, California).
And I had to cover my eyes walking past the huge satellite dish at the La Quinta Inn in San Antonio, Texas.
But when I faced my fears and started doing some of this stuff on-purpose, I realized it was kind of exciting.
Here’s what happened:
One of my brothers was living in San Diego. During one of my visits, I told him about my fear of low flying planes and he suggested I face my fears and go to this (awesome) spot near where the planes land.
It’s crazy.
There’s a spot right outside the outer part of the San Diego airport where you can stand and see the planes come in. Super-close. There’s a bunch of buildings where the planes are coming from so you can’t really tell when it’s coming until BLAMO, it’s right there! And it’s so loud.
And it rushes over you, so close. And then it lands a few seconds later, right on the other side of the barbed-wire fence.
It’s so fun!
“It’s so fun!” That’s a way better thought to have than, “We’re all gonna die!”
So, there it is.
If you were paying attention earlier... you may have noticed that I said, “My heart leapt into my throat.” That’s the sensation in my body caused by the feeling of fear. But you might also describe the feeling of excitement that way.
So, we have:
The same activity (low flying aircraft)
+
a different thought (“this is fun” vs. “we’re all gonna be crushed to death”)
=
a different feeling (excitement vs fear).
You can turn your fear around in an instant simply by changing the thoughts you have behind it.
—
And now, still enjoying my fear/excitement of planes,
I went out to a country airfield this very week, stood at the end of the runway, and scared myself.
Warning: I may have cursed a little bit in this video, as the approaching airplane got closer — I thought it was stopping and then it sped up and took off again.
Special note: The moment I ended the video, I took off running.
Are you a Creative who needs help clearing the clutter in your home, office, or mind?
When you enroll in Get Organized for Good, my personal 1-to-1 coaching program, you will learn the tools and strategies to conquer your clutter and get organized for good.
You’ll be more focused, less stressed, and find more peace and calm in your days.
I can help you become an organized person
To learn more, click here to grab a spot on my calendar—
Your FREE “Clear the Clutter” Strategy Session
This is a chance for you ask me anything and learn how I can help you get organized, get it all done, and live a happier life.