Embracing Good Fear When Making A Career Change
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We usually think of fear as a negative emotion which should be managed and quieted; however, there are some positive aspects of fear to consider. Tara Mohr, author of the book Playing Big, writes about understanding fear in a whole new way. She draws from Rabbi Lew’s book, Be Still and Get Going, and explains that the Hebrew Bible uses two words to describe fear. One type of fear can be paralyzing, while the other type can be exhilarating.

What is bad fear? The two words for fear in Hebrew are pachad and yirah. Pachad is what we commonly associate with the feeling of apprehension caused by anticipation of threats. I think of it as bad fear because often the threats of danger are false. Pachad fear can often mislead us or even prevent us from moving forward.

What is good fear? Yirah is the Hebrew word for the other aspect of fear. Rabbi Lew explains that the word has three different meanings:

(1) It is the feeling that overcomes us when we inhabit a larger space than we are used to.

(2) It is the feeling we experience when we suddenly come into possession of considerably more energy than we had before.

(3) It is what we feel in the presence of the divine.

This is type of fear is good. It is the feeling of awe- reverence, and appreciation of the greatness of what is before us.

What should be our response to fears? During a career change, you most likely will experience both pachad and yirah type fears. The key to responding is knowing the difference. Morh explains that pachad fear brings a physical sense of contraction and tenseness, while yirah fear brings more of a spacious fluid feeling into the body. Yirah fear is healthy respect for what lies ahead, while pachad fear is often unhealthy feelings of anxiety. Welcome yirah for what it is, but work to quiet and manage the feelings of pachad. Pachad is f.e.a.r.- which stands for false evidence appearing real.

Fear is not all bad, in fact, feelings of yirah fear can be quite motivating. Barbara Wasserman, a therapist and coach, said “Now being able to differentiate between pachad and yirah, I often look for yirah and each day ask myself, when did I feel yirah? If I didn’t feel it, I look for opportunities for it that might have been missed.” How will you feel yirah today?