I am not one who likes scary movies. I think life itself is scary enough. It might be that I find myself in enough uncomfortable situations that I don’t need to go looking for more.
The top fears are death and public speaking. Personally, I take the approach of being grateful for each day that I am living. Tomorrow is not a guarantee. As for public speaking, I joined Toastmasters 10 years ago and that has made that fear manageable.
So what is the scariest thing that I encountered? Getting a divorce. Whether the fear was real or not I cannot really tell. It felt very, very real to me. I was afraid that I would not make it out alive. I was also afraid that I couldn’t protect my boys. Once I did get out I was afraid that I couldn’t take care of them. It took 6 months to get situated and about 10 years to regain my full emotional strength. That was 27 years ago.
Close to fear is excitement. My body vibrated with excitement when I heard a lion roar while sitting in my tent in the Masai Mara reserve in Kenya. Based on the sound I couldn’t tell how close the lion was and I didn’t think the canvas sides were that protective.
As I look back, each time I felt fear, it made me stronger – much stronger. I found my confidence, worked on my strengths and built a life for me and the boys.
They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. So what scares you?
By Mary Guldan-Lindstrom
