Illogical Fear

July 19, 2001 - our first little dog died suddenly.

July 19, 2013 - our second little dog died suddenly.

 

July 19, 2014 - our new little dog is not allowed to take naps because we keep waking him up to make sure he's alive all day.

July 19, 2015 - a repeat of 2014

July 19, 2016 - I must admit it is "deathwatch" again, but perhaps a little less concerned.

I know it's not a logic-based fear, but admittedly, we have allowed a certain level of apprehension to cover this day. While this particular fear is diminishing, how many other fears do we hang onto that are based on the same illogical thinking? I dare say that's part of the definition of fear.

Oh sure, there are some fears based on negative experiences of life. If you were bit by a large dog as a toddler, it would be understandable for you to develop a fear of all dogs. But what about the fear of public speaking? Did you do it and get nails thrown at you? Not likely, so why are so many people afraid of that?

There's always the fear of failure to talk about. Who wants to dive into that one with me? I have been there. I have tried things and laughed in the face of that fear. I have failed at the very same things. But, what was I really afraid of? Failure these days is highly applauded. You aren't likely to succeed without a few failures under your belt. So with all the respect failure gets now, why do we still fear it? We should be excited to have that option in front of us.

So, today we keep poking our little dog when he tries to sleep. No car rides, no walks. There is no risk allowed today to increase the odds of losing him. Why? Because logical or not, fear is emotionally based and emotions are real.