yoda-wise beyond his years

do…or do not

yoda utters these words to luke skywalker when he was attempting to raise his x-wing fighter out of the swamp. (there is the final part of the line i cut out, “there is no try.” for the purpose of this post, it is not necessary.) yoda spoke to luke about taking action or staying on the sidelines. the in between leads too much struggle and loss of energy. maybe yoda was wise beyond his 900 years.

maybe yoda’s words apply to fear-do or do not. put another way, to minimize fear, either face it or surrender to it. the grey state in between is what causes so much trouble. Let’s explore further.

i have very shaky hands. so shaky, there’s no way I could be a brain surgeon. I guess i could have been but all my patience would have had unforeseen results from yet another tremor. partly because of the shaky hands, i have long surrendered the idea of being a brain surgeon. for that reason, i have 0 fear surrounding the brain surgery that i’m not doing this morning. since i totally let go of the idea of doing brain surgery, i have no fear around it.

on the other end of the spectrum , i want to look at my college years. doubt and fear took up roost both in entering college and just about every class. i feared that i wouldn’t be able to handle the class and fail. with each subject, i went to the first class, the second and the third. i soon learned that i would have to work, but i could face this latest challenge. by facing my challenge, i could conquer my fear and make it through yet another class with newfound knowledge.

the large grey area between surrendering or facing fears is vast i’ve been there far too many times. there, my thoughts come fast and furious and mash together, i’m going to do it i can’t do it i’m not capable i can learn as i go i’m unsure you’ve done many things like this before what if i fail you are strong you are weak…and the struggle goes on in on. in this state, the trepidation becomes a prison. for every “do” thought there is a “do not”. the uncertainty causes struggle and increases the fear.

it’s only when the choice to “do”, face the challenge, or “do not”, surrender, can the impact on fear disappear. looking back at my college years, i faced that trepidation heading into most classes. the fact my butt remain in the seat beyond the third class showed the vacillation had stopped and i chose to face the challenge.

additionally, the quicker the decision between “do” and “do not” is made, the less time gets spent in the unhealthy state of spinning the wheels. sometimes, even though a decision seemingly gets made, the second guessing kicks in, entering the state of “did i make the right decision?” that means the decision has not been wholly made. even though the choice of surrendering or facing the fear had been made, really the choice had slipped back into the grey space between.

going forward, i want to be more aware of the wise words of yoda, “do or do not,” when it comes to fear. with that, i can more quickly release myself from the energy draining grey state between “do or do not”. through the process, i will spend less time in battle with my formidable nemesis, fear. and that’s a good thing.