Blind Tibetan monks…

I was driving back from the gym and I was listening to this self help guru type person on the radio spruiking on about fear. No, I’m not into listening to sensitive new age crap where people contemplate their belly button while sipping organic peppermint tea grown by blind Tibetan monks on the north side of a hill that is inhabited only by sacred frogs. But that’s me. I like good old, kick-you-in-the-head reality. However, this sensitive fluffy dude did make me think about the concept of fear. He said we “must confront our fears to be truly great." Yep, I’ll go along with the confronting thing – some things you just have to stand up to – but the truly great bit? Ah no, I don’t believe that.

Why not? I’ve done a lot confronting of fear this year and I have to tell you on the whole it was not great…it was pretty average actually. While you must face what scares you, 9 times out of 10, it’s not going to make you feel great. You may feel relieved and generally a little silly, but greatness is not mixed up in that.

It annoys me that these self help nongs spout off this pop psychology without actually thinking who their listeners are. What is someone else’s fear? Should they confront it? Will it be dangerous? And yes, you can say it’s up to the individual to take what they like out of these messages but what if they are so confused and searching for answers that they do the wrong thing? I have long believed self help gurus need to look to their own lives and only treat those on an individual basis and not people on mass via syndicated media.

Fear – sure, face it if you can but no ones going to think any worse of you if you don’t. As for greatness? It comes and goes and you get on with life. No one is going to be great all the time and we just have to accept that.

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