{"id":69,"date":"2016-10-12T03:28:09","date_gmt":"2016-10-12T03:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kenukan.com\/blog\/?p=69"},"modified":"2016-10-12T03:33:12","modified_gmt":"2016-10-12T03:33:12","slug":"fear-and-the-flight-or-fight-reflex-part-4-of-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kenukan.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/12\/fear-and-the-flight-or-fight-reflex-part-4-of-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Fear and the Flight or Fight Reflex – Part 4 of 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jim Harrison (Originally Published By MA Success Magazine)<\/em><\/p>\n

Where do you start the process\u00a0of learning to overcome fear?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stage One starts in the dojo or\u00a0gym. There, the training should\u00a0be rugged and demanding,\u00a0sometimes even brutal and\u00a0intimidating. And it often is,\u00a0especially so in the case of boxing gyms, judo dojo and wrestling\u00a0and sambo halls. In fact, if the training isn’t tough and hard, you\u00a0might as well forget about becoming a real fighter.<\/p>\n

Instead, you will simply be, and remain, a wannabe, with only\u00a0dreams and wishes. Because, in any lesser or weaker atmosphere\u00a0like that found in the run-of-the-mill or the average karate,\u00a0aikido, kung-fu and taekwondo school – you will develop a\u00a0considerably lesser amount of actual fighting ability and\u00a0warrior-like attitude. Worse, you may develop false confidence.\u00a0False confidence will always betray you when you need the real\u00a0warrior’s attitude gained only from true confidence.<\/p>\n

It’s very simple. If you want to swim, you have to – at the very\u00a0least – get wet. And to be a champion swimmer, you’re also\u00a0going to get tired, cold, and half-drowned – regularly. And if you\u00a0are forced to swim with sharks, you better train for it as if your\u00a0very life depends on it. Because, usually, it does!<\/p>\n

What would be required of me in that kind of tough\u00a0training environment?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the tough dojo or gym, you must attend classes, practice\u00a0sessions and workouts regularly and consistently. Don’t permit\u00a0yourself excuses for missing practice, unless your reasons – like\u00a0injury, illness, etc. – are honest and legitimate.<\/p>\n

You must train daily, preferably, or at least every other day. You\u00a0must work hard and train hard. You must work through fatigue\u00a0and discomfort, through all obstacles except potentially\u00a0disabling injuries and mental stress. Further, you don’t ever slack\u00a0off. You must be willing to shed sweat, blood and even tears.<\/p>\n

You should organize a schedule and curriculum that is more\u00a0demanding than you think you can endure, and stick to it. And\u00a0then increase it. You must train yourself to be tough before you\u00a0can be tough. The tougher and rougher you train, the rougher\u00a0and tougher you will become.<\/p>\n

Training tough and consistent is the first step in overcoming\u00a0fear. Learn to overcome the fear of work, regimentation,\u00a0discomfort, pain and frustration.\u00a0Take any setbacks in stride and\u00a0overcome them as quickly\u00a0as possible.<\/p>\n

To put it in brutally frank terms,\u00a0strive to reach the point where\u00a0you simply cannot, will not, and\u00a0do not accept failure!<\/p>\n

You cited three stages in this\u00a0process of overcoming fear.\u00a0Wouldn’t Stage One – rugged training – accomplish this alone?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No! Now you must put your training skills to the test. Robin\u00a0Webb, a former British Isles heavyweight boxing champion and a\u00a0former sparring partner of Muhammad Ali’s, once said: “No\u00a0coward steps into the ring twice.” To successfully build courage,\u00a0you will have to step into the ring for perhaps the first time in\u00a0your life, and no matter what happens, then step into it again\u00a0and again.<\/p>\n

Stage Two involves competition on the mat, in the ring, and in\u00a0the arena. Having the determination to prepare as well as\u00a0possible, and the fortitude to show up and do the job as well as\u00a0you can, is the mindset needed to overcome your natural,\u00a0inherited and genetic adrenal dispersal – no matter how it is\u00a0proportioned. It is a matter of mind over fear! Courage!<\/p>\n

So, after you have prepared (Stage One), you must\u00a0systematically test yourself somewhere, sometime, against a\u00a0worthy opponent in a competitive environment. That takes\u00a0courage. Then you must continue to select or challenge more\u00a0and more worthy opponents. And each time you choose a\u00a0worthy opponent, it will require of you more courage.<\/p>\n

But be careful. There’s an old saying, “Don’t bite off more than\u00a0you can chew, but don’t spit it out if you do!”<\/p>\n\n