“With fear, learning stops,” Bob Koherr, a fellow sitcom director, reminded me and a room with other DGA members recently. I’ve blogged about fear before—how it can be your friend. But Bob’s statement prompted me to think about fear again and reexamine how I overcome it. I realized that I have several strategies to draw on, depending on the circumstances. Sometimes it helps me to review them when I don’t know how to get around the fear, and this leads to a solution. Here‘s where I begin to manage it so I can fight back:
- Ambition: If I want something badly enough I can dodge my fear in pursuit of the greater goal.
- Dissection: I peel and separate fear, break it down, until it’s more manageable.
- Capitulation – up to a point: I fall down hard but stand back up, because, well, nothing else is working.
- Anger: I attack the fear and just say, “Fuck fear!”
I’d love to hear what scares you…and what you come up with to fight back! Catalysts? Triumphs? All strategies and ideas welcome
