Fearing Fear Itself

“We were at the top of the bridge and the car was shaking; we could feel the bridge swaying with the hard winds.” My mother has told me this story of her and my father traveling to St. Petersburg, FL on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge more times than I can count (and I’m pretty good at counting). My mom is a staggering 4 feet and 11 inches tall and has a fear of heights like if it’s for sport, so I’m not sure how much of this story was just in her head but I guarantee she was terrified at the time. Fast forward 21 years later, on a trip to surprise my family for the Fourth of July, I decided to take on this instilled fear of the famous evil bridge.

Very early on, I realized there was nothing to fear and just took in the beautiful view. Continuing my drive after the bridge, I couldn’t help but think about what other things I might be missing out on because of a bad first impression. I’d like to think of myself as an “educated risk taker” and sometimes my decision to go forward with something includes input from someone who might have given me an emotional testimonial instead of an objective view of the overall experience. When’s the last time you bought something on Amazon and didn’t check the reviews? It’s completely natural for us to want to know what we’re getting ourselves into before we commit to it.

One of my favorite words is ‘Perspective.’ To me, it’s a gateway to building empathy, trust, understanding, and just an overall better line of communication. But sometimes I let the perspectives of others become my own. If I had never heard about the story of the Skyway Bridge from my Mom, I wouldn’t have thought twice about driving on it. As much as I trust my mom and her advice, I can’t live my life with her fears. “Hope for the best, expect the worst” is something I consistently tell myself, but in reality, I should expect nothing. I should go into every situation with a fresh mindset and develop my own perspective, not taking someone else’s as absolute fact.

It’s hard not to account for any preconceived notions you might have about something but you manage to set those aside, you might just experience something pretty great.