Weekly Prompt #16: How does fear affect our decision-making process?
Hello everyone, I hope you are all being easy on yourself this week.
A couple of weeks ago we discussed: What is your biggest fear? Thank you to all who participated and shared their thoughts for discussion. I enjoyed them. I hope you all did too. If you didn't share yours, please share them here and I look forward to reading and discussing them with you.
This week's prompt: How does fear affect our decision-making process? Can fear sometimes be a motivating force, pushing us to achieve our goals?
This week I want us to reflect and explore this topic that can help us understand and explore our decision-making process when we are experiencing fear. Let's get started and all thoughts are welcomed!
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Fear hinders my progress most of the times. I've observed this thing in my life since past few years that even in the trivial affairs, my decision making process is affected by fears. For example when I'm trying to write an article or a research paper, the fear of being judged by people makes me freeze, and then I keep on delaying that task for long periods of times, unless someone else pushes me to finish it. This is the biggest obstacle in my self regulation & self discipline I guess.
@agreeableDime6679 Thank you for sharing your experiences with us, Dime. It sounds like fear of judgment can make tasks feel overwhelming. You seem self-aware of how it impacts you, which is a good first step. Our fears don't always reflect reality. Perhaps being gentle with yourself as you work through projects, without harsh criticism, could help you make steady progress at your own pace.
@ASilentObserver
It's clear to me that decision-making is not a one-size-fits-all process, and it can be heavily influenced by various factors. Everyone has their own unique upbringing and personality, which can play a significant role in their decision-making process. Personally, I was raised by strict Asian parents, which has instilled in me a deep desire for perfectionism. I often find myself carefully planning and strategizing to achieve the best possible outcome. However, when faced with high-pressure situations, the fear of not being able to execute my plans perfectly can trigger a fight-or-flight response. This can lead me to make hasty decisions that I later regret. As a result, I find it challenging to handle difficult situations effectively. It can be tough to overcome these tendencies, but it's important to recognize and work through them in order to make more informed and effective decisions.
@lovingMaria Thank you for sharing about your upbringing and how it influences your decision-making process. It sounds like the desire to be perfect can sometimes make situations feel high-pressure. I'm glad you're aware of this connection and working to better understand yourself.
Short answer
Fear is a source of pride, growth and resilient
Positive
I wrote the negative first then thought I should add some positive. Fear is the thing that keeps me safe. Fear is the reason I know I can be better. Fear starts small but ends big. Fear is learning from failure. Fear means it's possible to dream. Fear means you can look back and see how far you come.
Negative
Fear fogs my brain to the point I can't think every part of me shutting down or I'm exploding. Fear has made me fall behind so far I have only just started doing things with help like showering and going out I'm not good enough to push through. Fear makes me avoid too much as I'm a weak scardy cat. I find it so hard to push through fear and it weighs me down. It drives me to the point of giving up sometimes. Then I turn round and pick myself up, jump into a project and self-care myself through until the next fall.
@AutiBoy Thank you for sharing both the positives and challenges with fear. It sounds like fear can be both motivating at times, keeping you safe and pushing growth, but also heavy to carry when it overwhelms. Your resilience in facing fear again after is truly admirable. What helps you most in picking yourself back up after a fall?
Short answer
Self-care, more self-care, a project, my routine, clean my room, shame workbook, other workbooks, Journaling and positive thinking.
Long answer
Once I am calm myself I bring myself out of my head and keep busy. I normally start a project at the moment every time I fall I dive into a website I'm making for fun. Something I can completely put my soul into.
I follow a routine and clean my room.
I put in extra self-care stuff like sensory and audio and extra workbook time. The shame workbook is most helpful for when I fall because of anxiety as the shame can lead to a second fall.
I Journal everything so I can look back day to day to see what skills I used and didn't, why I fell, what's working and what's not, and my triggers and patterns. I always learn a lot. I try and think about the positive that it's not a failure just a fall. I can learn how to avoid other falls from this one. I believe there's a positive in everything so that is probably my biggest help.