Fear of Trying
We've all been there. You have the opportunity or have been asked to try something new, something for which the outcome is uncertain or unknowable. What should you do? You worry about it, and anxiety builds up along with the reasons you begin to fabricate for why you shouldn't do it. You begin to focus on the biggest reason of all, you might fail! Finally, a certain logic takes hold, i.e., the safe, comfortable world of the known is much to be preferred than all the imagined bad outcomes of trying the unknown. Taken to its extreme, repeated fear of trying when the issue is really important may eventually lead to gridlock for even trivial things. And tackling the fear of trying only gets harder as we age and become more resistant to change.
Did you know there's a name for fear of trying? It's called neophobia. Yeah, there's a word for everything. So, let's start with a few observations about the fear itself and why we should address it. The first thing is that it's natural, it's something that is present in all of us to some degree. Second, when we agonize over a decision with uncertain outcome, the brain's response is similar to the response when we anticipate a known, positive outcome; i.e., it goes into overdrive, generating thoughts of negative or positive outcomes, respectively. It may trigger body responses, like sweating. In thinking about trying something new, consider that this brain stimulation (positive or negative) is actually a good thing, as opposed to long periods of brain dulling. It's why we're encouraged to do brain exercises as we age, like the puzzles in the paper. And if the outcome from your trying is positive, the brain stimulation is many times more beneficial than the zero or negative stimulation of not trying. Third, part of your fear is what you believe other people will be thinking about you. However, chances are very few people will actually be paying attention to what you did. And if they are, their reaction may be much less critical than you imagined.
So, try not anticipating that the outcome will be bad or good, but just something different. And you can avoid visualizing the response as a worst-case failure, by breaking it down into a series of smaller parts that you can more easily deal with. Then, before you proceed with your response, prepare by practicing what you can beforehand. The practice helps to ease anxiety by helping to picture increased probability of success. You might also start by trying small, inconsequential new things, whose success can build confidence for the ability to try larger, more important challenges. And use some logic, there is no reason to try something risky with no obvious positive outcome, such as with an important financial decision.
Hope this helps. Ready to try something new?
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