Swimming in an ocean of sharks

"New is always better", Barney Stinson, How I met your mother While this might not always be true, as humans we are always looking for new experiences to keep us challenged. Every time we step outside our comfort zone, the world is brim with opportunities and nothing seems impossible. However a focussed pursuit of a challenge often finds us face to face with a fear that seems to be holding us back, for example, a first kiss could lead to a first fight that threatens your relationship, a first job, could lead a first rejection, that shatters your self confidence. When faced with fears and anxiety we start questioning everything and this makes us feel stuck to a point of no-return.

I remember this feeling of exhilaration and confidence on the first day at my job. It was something I had dreamed for so long, and I had worked all my life for this one moment. Everything in the world seemed right! There was always a wide smile on my face, my boss was kind and very encouraging of all my ideas and I couldn't have asked for better colleagues. The late night parties, the compliments from strangers and the appreciation from my boss, life couldn't get any better.

When pursuing a challenge it is impossible to expect things to go according to plan. If we imagine looking at an island from the shore through vastness and complexity of the ocean the challenge doesn't seem impossible. Every challenge we pursue is like swimming deeper in the ocean towards the goal. What we often foresee is that, the deeper we go into the ocean the closer we are to the sharks.

Two years into my dream job, I feared losing my job. Despite working all the time, my boss was disappointed and repeatedly threatened to fire me. I lost all my friends, my social life and peace of mind. At this stage I had two options, to quit or keep trying. The reason to quit was an inability to handle criticism, and to keep trying I need to face my fears, i.e., survive this shark attack. If reaching the island is your goal, and the sharks are in your way, then running away from the sharks makes your pursuit of the challenge shallow and meaningless. Fighting the sharks is the only way to make it the island. In reality as well we spend a lot of time face to face with our fears. This could be different for every person, based on their situation and environment. Running away from the fears is what makes us unhappy and feel stuck. To achieve anything we put our mind on, we must face up to the fears and anxieties holding us back. While fighting our fears and anxieties could endanger our mortality, when we survive it transforms us to a new self, and the cycle of life continues.