Self-Confidence Knocks Out Fear

Take a moment to guess what your body can achieve…YOU’RE WRONG, because you can do more. The first step is establishing whether or not you believe in yourself. Don’t expect me to spit out bullshit by saying you can do anything if you believe in yourself, because you can’t. Nobody can do everything, but if you’re self-confident, you’ll try more things and will be shocked as to how good you truly are.

Fear is inevitable. You will always be afraid of something. Self-confidence will fight its nemesis for eternity, so you must choose whether to fight for Team Self-Confidence or Team Fear.  

Here’s my attempted Batman metaphor:

I’m a diehard Batman fan (no, not because Heath Ledger died). Being trapped in a dark hole with bats swarming everywhere really frazzled the crapshoot out of young Bruce Wayne. However, after growing up angry and afraid of bats, Bruce Wayne finally grew that pair of balls needed to defeat his fear. In short, he became Batman, embracing the Bat-Suit, Bat-Symbol, and most importantly, the Bat-Cave. Bats scatter throughout the Bat-Cave, but this time, Bruce Wayne owns them, not the other way around. Batman’s confidence outweighs his fears.

I’m not saying you should pick your most-feared animal, make a suit of that animal, and then fight crime. BUT what I am saying is acknowledge your fears in a way where they enhance your confidence, embrace them, and go accomplish what you’ve set out to do.

You’re better off going for your goals than letting fear stop you. If you get your ass kicked like Batman did when Bane broke his back, the worst that can happen is you’ll have to fight harder next time. Trust me…there’s very few feelings of success that can compare to breaking through your fear and coming out more confident.  

Here’s where I relate this to my recent Tough Mudder experience:

Last Saturday, I participated in Tough Mudder with five other brave souls for Team Mind Over Mudder. We wore these sick-ass shirts, thanks to Fitness Wear, Inc. Wearing their shirts made me want to workout, so running 12 miles in deep mud, while pushing through 22 brutal obstacles was a blast.

Running, crawling, climbing, carrying, and pushing are fine, BUT I’m scared shitless of heights and electric shock. Knowing that one slip would cause me to fall far to injury makes me nauseous, and the thought of a sudden jolt causing uncontrollable, bodily twitches is discomforting.

However, the LeanBerg self-confidence refuses to grant fear the satisfaction of sending me home defeated. My Mind was Over the Mudder. (I had to link this theme with the team name somehow).

So what if I’m afraid? That didn’t stop me from completing the following obstacles (we nailed all of them but here’s a few of the milestone ones):

ü  EVEREST. We sprinted up a tall, steep, and muddy quarter-pipe. I ran like the Tasmanian Devil. (That’s aLooney Tunes reference).

 ü  ELECTRIC EEL. We crawled through ice-cold water and mud, just inches under live, electric wires. I took some shots in the arms. Oh, they twitched, but the pain was minimal. Thank God I didn’t get hit in the head or neck.

 ü  WALK THE PLANK. We jumped off a 15+ foot cliff into freezing water. Saying, “screw you,” and jumping anyways lead to a glorious feeling of knocking out one of my biggest fears.

ü  ELECTROSHOCK THERAPY. We ran through a field of live wires. We had to keep our eyes open or else we’d trip over the scattered hay bales into deep mud. Regardless, we showed our guts charging through that field, got shocked, thrown back on our behinds, but got back up and crossed the finish line with success.

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER. Tough Mudder was a success! BigBerg’s fear would have prevented him from even showing up to such a challenge. But that wimpy attitude is different today, thanks to self-confidence.

Whether it’s heights, electricity, bats, or whatever, I know what my fears are, but I’m confident that I can break through them. It’s an awesome feeling when that happens, and I hope you all can enjoy it too.

Don’t let your fears stop you. Control your fears. You got this.

Oh, and by the way, you can find me on Twitter and Instagram @lean_berg. If you follow me, I’ll feel good about myself…plus I’d love to hear about your workouts, progress, advice, critiques, and answer any questions. You can also email me at jordangreenberg32@gmail.com. The world is your oyster.