Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly - Robert F. Kennedy
The "fight or flight response" is our body's automatic, inborn reaction that prepares us to "fight" or "flee" from perceived attack, harm or threat to our survival. It is entirely appropriate that we should seek to preserve ourselves in the face of perils, but we risk action paralysis if we are constantly in this state.
When faced with a risky task we may find ourselves having an inner conversation, where we assess the trade-off we need to make between fleeing for safety, and staying, because we don't see how we can live with ourselves if we don' stay the course. The outcome of this conversation makes the difference between those who go further to achieve greatness, and those who don't.
Consider this newspaper headline: 'Nine Year Old Fights Crocodile to Save Brother". An adult crocodile can be as long as 5m or more, and weigh more than 300kg. The bite force of a crocodile is more than 5,000 pounds per square inch. What would drive a boy whose weight is less than one sixth of a crocodile's, to fight one off? The answer is: "the prospect of living without his brother".
It is probably inconceivable that the nine year old had the time to have a conversation about whether living without his brother was a more fearful prospect than to risking his life fighting a crocodile, but, in the case I refer to, that is exactly what happened. When interviewed, the boy said he could not imagine living without his brother, and so he "had to do something to help him". They both suffered serious injuries, but they survived.
Now I am going to turn that question around and ask, "what would have happened if the boy hadn't fought the crocodile, and so lost his brother?"
The boy would probably have spent the rest of his life wondering what would have happened if he had tried.
And that's the essence of my message today.
When the fight or flight response is activated, your awareness intensifies, and you see nearly everything in your environment as a possible threat to your survival. You are likely to over-react to the slightest comment. Your fear is exaggerated. Your thinking is distorted. You see everything through the filter of possible danger. You narrow your focus to risks and potential danger. In this state it is almost impossible to cultivate positive attitudes and beliefs. With your focus on short-term survival, you fail to consider the long-term consequences of your beliefs and choices.
In this state, you give up before you begin. You stop living because you are merely surviving. When you're perpetually on high alert, you feel stuck, because you stop trying for better.
To get unstuck to need to go beyond the 'state of alert' and choose to try.