You're afraid of the dark...

by 6 replies
8
I noticed something Sunday morning; my 3 year old daughter is afraid of the dark, but my 11 year old son isn't. Not shocking, I suppose.... but a month ago, the situation was the exact opposite. That, along with a couple of other experiences I've had, convinced me of the following: We're all afraid of the dark.

Until recently, my younger child had no fear of the dark. She insisted on sleeping with the lights off and the door closed. Dark and quiet, so perfect for sleeping. My son, however, for many years has wanted the door open, and the lights on in the hallway. Within the last month, they've completely swapped attitudes.
He's realized that there's nothing in the dark that isn't there in the light. My daughter is even afraid to walk down the hallway now if it's not well lit.

Have you noticed when we're born, we're afraid of essentially nothing. We'd happily run down the middle of the street naked, not a concern in the world. We'll say anything to anyone, under any circumstances, not a shred of anxiety. The dark is not a problem at this point either. But along the way we learn to be afraid of the dark along with everything thing else we grow to fear.

Near the end, our understanding evolves until we're not afraid of much anymore. Sit down and really talk to an older person near the end of his life, or someone of any age in hospice care. At that point, we're granted a new understanding of life and the world. People in that situation aren't afraid anymore of what anyone thinks. They say and do as they please, just like very young children.

It's something to consider; if you're not going to be afraid when you're 80 years old, why not just start being fearless now. After all, it's really just being afraid of the dark. Not easy, for sure, but that doesn't mean it's not worth pursuing.

Imagine you only had 12 months left to live; what would your general attitude be regarding all the things you're afraid to do and say? Would you still be afraid to ask out that beautiful woman/man? Launch that new IM product?

Would you still be afraid to take that big chance? Would you reget the things you haven't done?

K-
#main internet marketing discussion forum #afraid #dark
  • If you only had 12 months to live, what would be the point?

    Of course, we'd probably do things differently because of the limited time we had left, but a lot of those things we could not do if we knew we had a potential of another 30, 40 or 50 years left.

    For example, if you have enough money saved up to last 12 months and don't have a family, you can quit working. Do what you want to do. Do all the things you always wanted to but never could. You don't need to have anything set aside for retirement. You're outta here in a year anyway. So, you can blow through your savings and retirement and so on.

    Plus, kids and older folks don't necessarily have the same responsibilities. That is, most people aren't going to throw their 4 year old out on the street because of his opinions. And, a retired person living off his savings or pension doesn't have to worry about his income drying up because he expressed an unpopular opinion. That social security check is coming whether he's a far left or far right nut job or just plain off his rocker.

    As for the dark, I'm not afraid of the dark. The dark is afraid of me.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Maybe.

      I was worse than broke a few years ago. But when I decided to stop being afraid of failing, afraid of succeeding, afraid of what everyone else though, etc., I was able to retire in less than 3 years.

      I'm a single parent with 2 kids.

      I'm not talking about taking economical risks that have the potential to cause harm. I'm talking about being bold.

      Unless you're potentially going to fall off a cliff, being afraid is not a good reason not to do something. It's more a symptom of who you are at that moment than it is a reflection of what you're thinking about attempting.

      How many guys would walk up to 10 beautiful women and ask them out?

      What's the risk? None. The word 'no'? Greater tragedies have happened.
      What's the potential gain? Oh, baby.

      But most guys wouldn't do it for $1,000.

      I think a lot of people in general don't have good control over themselves, which is bad, because everything is so easy after that. I know, because I've been at the far end of both extremes. lol

      I'm glad someone read the post though.

      K-
  • Monsters. Monsters. Monsters.

    My daughter learned about monsters around the age of 4. Three years later, they are still all over my house. Under the bed, in the closet... everywhere.

    I had a friend come over pretending to be a monster exterminator. That helped for about a day. Then, she said, "He didn't really look like he knew what he was doing."
    • [3] replies
    • Hopefully not many married guys.

      Did he carry a piece of chalk? If not, your daughter was probably right.
    • Regarding the monster extermination, it's hard to fake being an expert when you're dealing with an expert.
    • I need to get that done to my little brother - He is still afraid of going upstairs on his own.
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    You're afraid of the dark...

    I noticed something Sunday morning; my 3 year old daughter is afraid of the dark, but my 11 year old son isn't. Not shocking, I suppose.... but a month ago, the situation was the exact opposite. That, along with a couple of other experiences I've had, convinced me of the following: We're all afraid of the dark. Until recently, my younger child had no fear of the dark. She insisted on sleeping with the lights off and the door closed. Dark and quiet, so perfect for sleeping. My son, however, for many years has wanted the door open, and the lights on in the hallway. Within the last month, they've completely swapped attitudes.