What I’ve Learned In One Minute…

Hi friends,

This is just a check in to see whether you are still on track with the resolutions you set for yourself. Reading more. Eating better. Doing the things you said you would do when the year started. If so congrats, you're one step closer. If not, no worries, you can still start today and make this year one to truly remember for yourself.

In my last days in Dublin, I visited Funderland, Ireland’s version of Winter Wonderland. Being there reminded me of how scared I used to be of theme park rides as a child. I almost swore them off completely. And because of this, my cousin told me to stop being a baby and just get on the swing. So, I did. My heart was racing, I was locked in and fully expecting the worst.

But nothing bad happened. I actually laughed, screamed, and cried with joy. What stayed with me afterwards was not relief, but regret. Realising how much excitement I had missed out on because of a fear I never questioned.

That experience made me realise something.

Sometimes we hold fears for so long that we forget why we are afraid in the first place. The feeling stays, but the reason disappears. We continue to act as if the fear still makes sense. For some reason, many of us fear things like public speaking, certain foods, dogs, driving, or confrontation without being able to explain why. Not because of something current, but because of something learned earlier in life.

If the reason for a fear is hard to remember, then it is worth questioning whether that fear still deserves a place in your life.

Fear does protect us, but it is situational. As children, certain fears make sense. As we grow, some of those fears should change too. The problem is that many of them do not, simply because we never revisit them. The cost of that is not just missing out on excitement.

It is avoiding opportunities you never properly explore. It is never learning what you actually like. It is never meeting people or communities that sit on the other side of the things you avoid. It is staying stagnant in your preferences because you never test them. Life is too short to live entirely on defaults.

Some fears are inherited. From parents, teachers, and the culture around us. Often those fears were useful to the people who passed them down. They protected them. But that does not mean they are still useful to us now. I am not saying you should ignore fear. I am saying you should re evaluate it. Especially the fears you no longer understand.

Some fears protect us from danger. Others protect us from becoming who we could be.

TL;DR

Some fears stay with us long after the reason for them has disappeared. We continue to avoid things not because they are dangerous now, but because they once were or because someone else taught us to be afraid. The cost of these outdated fears is not just missed excitement, but lost time, stalled growth, and never fully discovering what we like or who we could become. Fear can protect us, but only when it is revisited and re evaluated. The fears we no longer understand are the ones most worth questioning.

WINS & LESSONS

Win:

I finally got over my fear of amusement park rides. What used to feel off limits now feels open, and I am actually looking forward to trying more.

Lesson:

Sleep has a much bigger impact on my weight than I realised. When I sleep poorly, my discipline around food drops and I naturally eat more without intending to.

QFYT

What is one fear you still live by that you cannot clearly explain anymore, and what might it be costing you if you never test it?

Alright that's it from me.

In a bit,

Motheo