Safety is Overrated and Healing Means Risk. #5
People who don’t take risks don’t heal.
Healing requires change. Change is risky. And change can feel unsafe.
You might be tempted to opt for safety instead. You’re free to do that, of course. See if what you get is what you aimed for, though.
Making safety your number one priority will stifle healing. But there’s no need to be foolish about it. Try thinking instead of risk and reward, or caution and recklessness.
In this video, I talk about how I changed the way I relate to fear. You can, too. I also share my favorite definition of courage.
Fear, safety, risk, change, choice: they are all connected to healing.
Video Content Timeline
Story about two lions [0:15]
Prioritizing safety as number one risks obstructing healing [1:13]
Prioritizing safety invites victimhood consciousness [1:26]
You should expect to encounter a paradox: the utility of feeling safe and utility of feeling unsafe, both paradoxically to support healing [3:39]
Think instead of risk and reward or caution and recklessness [9:51]
A different way to relate to fear [10:25]
Book recommendation The Art of Fear (see below) [11:35]
Definition of courage [13:18]
Back to the two lions story. You are free to be either lion [15:03]
Resources
Kristen Ulmer was the world’s best extreme skier many years running. She knows a lot about fear. Here you can find her and her book, The Art of Fear.
Julien Smith, author of The Flinch, is found here.