Charles Stanhope, a gym coach by day and yogi by night is a cool, calm and courageous man. However, of all the things Charles had bravely faced, there was one fear he had that prevented him from living life to the fullest, a fear that most people have but usually face and move on with their life.
Charles was deathly afraid of needles, and it seemed illogical to him how a sharp metallic object tearing into human flesh didn't scare others as much as it scared him. Due to this fear, he avoided blood tests and dentist appointments which resulted in him having poor oral health and tooth pain. This meant he could not eat some of the foods he wanted like ice cream but accepted this as a consequence of his decision to avoid any potential needles.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the nation was on lockdown and life came to a halt. Although he was relieved at the news of a vaccine being released, he was in utter despair when he realised it would be mandatory; his lifelong fear of needles striking with a vengeance. He knew that if he avoided the vaccine, this meant not meeting his friends and family, such as his old parents and nephews, and not going to his favourite pubs or restaurants. To make matters worse, it was now mandatory to show evidence of both vaccinations before travelling abroad or going to the cinema.
One evening however he managed to come to terms with his fear of needles by sitting down and analysing his worries, little did he know he was using the principle explored in the following blogs: A Quick Way to Resolve Your Worry Problems, Don't Sweat The Small Stuff and The Law of Averages. He wrote the answers to the following questions:
Q1: What am I worried about?
Charles was worried about the pain and the image of a sharp metallic object piercing through his flesh. There could be no worse thing he could imagine!
Q2: What's the worst that could possibly happen?
Charles would feel pain, but in all fairness, he's probably felt much worse. For instance, the bruises from paintballing, the numerous times his skin was sunburnt, getting splinters from woodwork, walking on his nephew's lego bricks, and the sting from shampoo in his eyes. Although these events had a different level of pain, they did not stop Charles from doing the things he loves because he may go through them again. In that instance, Charles realised it was not even the pain he feared, as he had gone through worse.
Accept the worst-case scenario:
Charles accepted the pain that may come from the needle, as after all, he's no stranger to pain.
Q3: How can you devote your time and effort to make the worst-case scenario better?
To motivate himself, Charles looked at all the destinations abroad he could now visit post his vaccinations. In addition, he made plans to visit his friends and family and do fun things with them. With this motivation, he booked the vaccinations and slept like a baby, proud to face his fears and experience all that would now be possible to him post-vaccination. He even selected a desert parlour to get ice cream from as soon as he left the vaccination centre, to focus his mind off the event itself.
Applying the law of averages and learning not to sweat the small stuff:
Charles asked his friends and family that already had the vaccine about their experiences. Not one said anything terrible. If this was the case and there were no stories online about any bad experiences during the vaccination, why would he be the only person to suffer? Especially when millions have come out without a scratch! "Was I that uniquely weak or incapable in any special way?", Charles asked himself. No, he was not! "If millions and potentially billions of people have come out alright, why wouldn't I?" This brought his mind into a rational perspective and he realised he had made a mountain out of a molehill. He realised he took on physical pain bravely and thought nothing of it many a time, but was letting a small, insignificant needle ruin his days and nights. He realised he was letting trivial matters, the "insects" of life ruin the big things like travelling, socialising, feeling connected and experiencing life. And in all fairness, the vaccine was not supposed to harm you but protect you so you can enjoy life and remain even more worry-free and relaxed.
Well, I am glad to say that Charles went through with his vaccination and in his own words, he said "I did not feel a thing! The nurse was very well trained, supportive and calming". He not only feels better being reconnected with his friends and family, but he is also making plans to travel.
Well done Charles, you have not only conquered your fear by analysing your worry, applying the law of averages and acknowledging that you were sweating the small stuff, but you have learnt first-hand the consequences of worrying over something not worth 5 seconds of thought. Above all, you now have a process to follow when analysing your worries.
"The best things in life are on the other side of fear." - Will Smith
I hope you learnt a thing or two from Charles, I sure did! To summarise, if the worry gremlin has paid you a visit, do what Charles did and apply the following steps:
Step 1: What is the worst that can happen?
Step 2: Accept the worst-case scenario.
Step 3: Work towards making the worst-case scenario better.
Step 4: How likely is the worst-case scenario?
Step 5: Are you sweating the small stuff? Is it possible that you have made a mountain out of a molehill? Is your worry an insect that should be crushed between your fingers and forgotten about? I think so!
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