“We might all get stung to death!”
News agencies in the 1970’s terrified Americans
with reports of “Killer Bees”. The attack was imminent
they said, only a matter of when they would reach you,
not if.
Radio, TV, and newspapers accounts assured us that this super-aggressive African hybrid bee would soon invade from our Southern border. Great swarms of these killer bees
would attack at the slightest provocation and sting you to death!
The nation was abuzz (pun intended) with theories and maps
detailing how this migration would occur.
“What if?”, everyone would speculate. Armchair scientists like Uncle Ron would pull a pack of Camels out from under his white stained tank top and proffer schemes to defeat this tiny enemy in the sky.
What if.
As a function of business, of science, “what if’s” are essential.
I’m thankful they test, “what if” extensively before they suggest I take any medicine. Even though side effect warnings on the TV commercials still scare me.
“Death may occur”, I think they should keep working on that one.
“What if” is like fire. It can be used for good or bad.
For example, good use in daily life is when your wife asks “do I look fat in this dress?” And you think, “What if I say yes?”, then tell her she looks great.
A bad use is when we think, “What if they don’t like me?”. Maybe it’s a date, a job interview, a party invitation, a speaking invitation. “What if” in this situation is really sabotage.
Many times when we ask “What if” we conjure all sorts of negative events and negate the probability of positive events happening too.
Humans naturally hold a negative bias. Fear. This emotion installed to protect us from wild things like “killer bees” has become misdirected in modern times when in reality, there are few daily risks to our survival.
It’s easy to get us scared.
I was scheduled to fly to China in 2002. This was just as news of the SARS virus hit.
News reports indicated this could become a global threat. Millions could die. My coworkers grew nervous and encouraged me to cancel the trip.
I had done far more research that indicated the news was just fear mongering. My contact in China said no outbreaks had been reported in that region and that healthcare was sufficiently on top of things.
Having been assured there was little cause for worry, off I went.
I returned without incident or infection. Airport security was manually checking each passenger for signs of fever at every checkpoint. Despite all the checks, my boss advised me upon my return that I could have 2 additional paid weeks off…my coworkers had pled with him to keep me out until the viral incubation period had passed. If I was still good in two weeks, I could come back.
And I did.
Similarly, despite news warnings to the contrary, killer bees never came either.
As they migrated up from the south, they were greeted by and mated with North American Southern bees. This created a new strain of hybrid bee, a much more chill bee; one infused with good old Sweet Southern Hospitality!
Do you terrorizing yourself with “What Ifs”?
Is fear keeping you from doing the things you want to do? Things you know you should do?
Our brain, like the Press, feeds on sensationalism. We love
And like the Press, our brain is often wrong in predicting the future.
Whenever I get stuck in my own head trying to figure out all the “What Ifs”, I’m reminded of a great book you can get at Amazon.com that’s helped millions, by Susan Jeffers,
“Feel the fear, and do it anyway”.
Fear was meant to trigger our fight or flight response. Hit that demon or run away.
Its not a fight, flight or freeze response, because ACTION is what will save you!
“What If?” There aren’t always pure thinking answers.
Physical action is required most times.
Try it and see will ALWAYS give you an answer.
Some answers you get from your action will be good. Some will be bad. So what?
Each response is just another fork in the road.
Everyone knows what to do when you come to a fork in the road, right?
You take it!
Good things happen. Bad things happen.
There will always be problems to solve. (I’ve written about this recently)
Action will provide all the answers to your “What If’s”
People hear that I publish books and come to me and say, “I’ve always wanted to write a book.”
And I say, “Why don’t you, its easier than you think.”
Inevitably, WI’s start spewing like vomit from a drunk.
It’s really just fear of the unknown. A laziness to seek answers.
If that’s one of your fears, I can rid you of that for good…with ACTION, by doing it with you at BookWritingMagic.com
Whatever that thing is you’ve been putting off because your WI’s (what ifs) are keeping you stuck, take one small action today toward your goal. One small, seemingly insignificant action, and see what happens.
You will be very surprised what will happen if you do this everyday!
“Bene Vivere!”
ElderBob Schwarztrauber
