Fearlessness comes naturally to some children, we learn to fear as we get older.

Fearlessness in the Face of the Coronavirus

This past January when I was in India with my young son and my colleagues at our annual retreat, a stomach virus started spreading around the hotel where we were staying. Everyone started dropping like flies. I’d be talking to someone about it, then five minutes later, I’d hear they were getting sick in the hall. I started to get a little bit paranoid, every elevator button I pressed, every door knob I turned could be contaminated, so I was afraid to touch anything. I chastised myself, “Why did I bring my baby to India where he could get really sick and I’m such a bad mom, etc, etc.” After a couple days, I got the virus and so did the baby. And as awful as it was (there’s nothing quite like being abroad on your own with a toddler with a stomach flu), I couldn’t help but notice how relieved I felt. Turns out the fear was worse than the illness. I don’t mean to downplay the seriousness of the Coronavirus. I tell this anecdote because we are in a state of collective fear the likes of which many of us have never experienced in our lifetime. And this fear, in many ways, is just as much a threat to our well-being as the virus itself. While letting go of fear is easier said than done, any decrease in anxiety will help protect you against the illness and increase your peace of mind.

The Purpose of Fear

Our cave dwelling ancestors lived a mostly pastoral life, but every once in a while, a lion…