Many sports involve overcoming an element of fear. For instance, stepping into a sparring session with someone who is significantly better than you takes guts.
Imagine yourself in these scenarios: Flying up 2 stories on a skateboard half pipe with nothing but cement underneath you; Driving in Nascar at top speeds while being bumped by other cars; Mounting a caged bull right before the gate opens. For me it was being the gunner on the kickoff team in Football. I would have to run 50 yards straight into a wall of players. It was going to hurt, the question was just how much.
Below is a true story about a man who faced his fears and grew because of it. Realize that you can learn to improve yourself because you can learn from others.
Carl Jung was a truly brilliant man who influenced the field of psychology greatly. (He also used hypnosis with some of his patients and came up with the theory of a collective unconscious.)
But he was not without his share of personal trials and tribulations. One of these stands out from the rest…
The year was 1913 and Jung was 38 years old. Suddenly and unexpectedly, he began to see strange visions and hear unusual voices. They kept coming back and would not go away.
Jung himself said it was a terrifying “confrontation with the unconscious” and
that he was “menaced by a psychosis.”
And it’s no wonder! As he would look back through the garden, Jung would see figures from HELL rising up to confront him.
And they would talk. It was not unlike the time when, as a child, he saw the figure of his mother moving down the hall at night. A soft glow emanated from her.
Most disturbing of all, her head was displaced from her shoulders and floating
a few feet ahead of the body.
As these visions and voices began haunting Jung, he had a choice: he could try to run away from them and hope for the best… or he could face them and ultimately move beyond them.
At the critical moment, Jung made the decision to face these figures and find out what they were trying to tell him. He began to listen to them and record
everything they said in a small journal.
This journal became known as the “Red Book,” which was kept under lock and key for more than 40 years. Anyway, Jung’s strange visions lasted about 5 years. When they finally stopped, he was a changed man.
Stronger. Braver. More confident in his own abilities to face whatever life threw at him. You see, Jung is in many ways just like you and me. He had fears and challenges just like all of us do.
Yet, he faced his challenges head on, and it changed him.
Realize, your fears can be confronted. You, too, have the opportunity to be changed — and to gain the ability to help others change as well. Lead by example.
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