Books

When I was in my teen years there were two thing that truly terrified me.  One was public speaking and the other was reading books. Public speaking is not that unusual many people have this issue. When I began university and decided I wanted to have a career in business and because of that I made a choice that to be get over my fear of public speaking I had to do public speaking.  I consciously put myself in situations where I would have to talk in front of people.  As time went on the natural fear I had of public speaking became a motivator.  I am not sure the actual feeling I have when I have to public speak is differ from my teen years but the motivation is different. That feeling now registers as excitement.

The other fear, I now realize, was totally irrational. I was a lucky person in school that grades came easy to me but I read as little as possible to get by. To this day I don't understand why I had this fear. I was about 22 when I was about to begin university (I started later than most people because I didn't have the means to go to university out of high school).  Again I realized if I was to succeed at university I had to read.

So I began to read. It was hard at first because I had never just sat for an hour and turned pages. I began by reading Louis Lamour, a western novelist.  Westerns were always an interest for me so I thought this was a great way to start.  Very soon after I branched out and was reading history which to this day is one of my greatest interests.

Both fears in hindsight were both irrational.  They were senseless, I had no bases to be afraid.

The most interesting thing is that nowadays both public speaking and reading give me some of the most pleasure in my life.  I am lucky to have a great partner and Wife that understands this.  My house has books all over the place and there is not a room where there are not books. She understands my passion for books and is supportive.  To the point where she tolerates books everywhere.

What is my point here.  It is a simple lesson.  The next time I have an irrational fear I need to engage that fear and not ignore it.