Inspiration can come from unexpected sources. I went out for a run in the woods the other day to get some inspiration from nature and felt suitably rejuvenated as I got back to my car.
On the drive back, I happened to have radio 5 on and the presenter was interviewing Andrew Flintoff, the ex-England cricketer about his latest foray in the world of TV and how he coped with the challenges he faced being on unfamiliar territory.
‘How do you handle the pressure? Do you get nervous?’
‘Yes of course’ Flintoff said, ‘I get nervous when I go on TV. But then I also used to feel nervous when I was playing cricket for England. I would always feel anxiety as I was walking out to bowl but I never saw that as a problem. It reminded me that this was an important match and to focus on doing my best.’
‘We are taught that there is something wrong with feeling nervous and I have never bought into that. I use that energy to focus my mind.’
I was taken aback. What Flintoff was relating were some key tenets of Buddhism…
Surrender – not resisting our experience, but allowing what is and feeling everything fully.
Equanimity – to treat all ephemeral experiences equally
OK maybe I’m stretching that a bit (!) but I always find it validating to hear successful people being vulnerable and sharing their experiences of fear. I know from my own experience that at times fear has stopped me going for what I want, subconsciously feeling it as a threat I need to avoid rather than a normal part of the journey.
Seeing it as an opportunity takes it a step further from a normal part of the journey to a necessary part of the journey. An emotion that facilitates growth, an opportunity to step forward with courage.
COURAGE
I found it really useful to understand the etymology of courage when looking at fear. It derives from the latin word ‘coeur’ meaning heart. Before I’d kind of associated it with forcing myself to do something I was scared to do – it feels so much more empowering now that I understand it as leading from the heart. Opening to love, faith, compassion.
I’m learning that I need to find my courage more and more as I follow my calling as a coach and aikido teacher. And maybe that is the purpose of the path: to open the heart – heal our emotional wounds, face our fears with compassion so we can impact the world in a way that is meaningful to us.
In Zen-buddhism it is said that the obstacle is the way. That which you fear is the path you must take. The hero’s journey.
Encapsulated in some of our favourite movie heroes & heroines – Luke, Frodo, Neo, Dorothy…
We love these characters not because they chose to follow the calling of their hearts and then they comfortably sailed through one open door after another but because of the trials and tribulations they face on the path to their authentic self. We get to watch them develop their inner strength and overcome their deepest fears to get what they really want, which our own hearts can relate to.
It knows, as Flintoff reminded me, that fear is as an opportunity for coeur-age rather than a threat to be avoided.
Flintoff Savage and the ping pong guy? My way of switching off! But yes, can be really interesting to hear from ultra successful sports people or even ‘brands’ as they seem to be in my eyes. The best days are the ones when you wake up and take a deep breath knowing it’s going to be a good one. That’s how progress is made.
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