Why is the unknown frightening? Should we be scared and frightened of the unknown? Can the unknown as scary as it may seem be beneficial for us as a human species? All these questions come to mind when I think about the subject, and I am sure that others to relate with the feeling of being scared or frightened with the unknown. According to the definition of the word;
Unknown: Not known or familiar (Adjective) and as a (Noun) an unknown person or thing.
Let’s tackle this concept and word from the very beginning, from the root, from the actual definition of the word. If something is not known or familiar of course there could be feelings of fear due to us not knowing what the unknown is and what is past it, it’s uncharted waters. If somehow we could remember the moments right before we took our first steps when learning how to walk, what were we feeling? Do you think that we were scared and frightened with the entire process? Statistically speaking, we learned how to crawl and walk within the first 12 months of life on average. When we took our first step and stumbled over, I am sure that we became even more fearful and scared with trying to walk, especially if we hurt ourselves. If we hurt ourselves we probably cried for some period of time, but then we attempted our first step again. The beauty of that first, completely unknown process, regardless of the fear, the pain from being hurt, we tried again, again, and again until we mastered walking. Fast forward to your current age now, are you scared or frightened of taking steps in order to walk? Is it even a thought in your mind?
The reason why I made that simple analogy is to help describe any unknown experience. It’s only unknown because we haven’t attempted it enough for it to feel comfortable, we haven’t mastered it. The unknown should be used as fuel to challenge and chase our dreams and passions. The unknown should make us want to run towards it, instead of away from it. The unknown should be used as a catapult to push us as humans to higher levels in life. That feeling that you get in a flight or fight response, with the injection of natural hormones in the face to face moment with the unknown, can and should be used for human growth. The unknown is only unknown because we aren’t familiar enough with it. Embrace the unknown, challenge the unknown, learn to love the unknown, grow with the unknown.
Step 1: Acknowledge the unknown
Step 2: Plan for the unknown
Step 3: Challenge the unknown
I strongly believe that every human being is fully capable to concur his or her unknown. The more you challenge unknowns the more you learn from them, the more you learn from them, the better your plans will be for future unknowns, and thus the less that unknowns will frightened us.
Head up, Eyes Forward!
