A while back, I was asked to record what I thought was going to be a 30-second promotional blurb for a local radio station. Because it would be so brief, I didn’t bother to write anything down (or to take the beta-blockers that are crucial to taming the wildfire of my public speaking phobia). After a horrifying 40-minute interrogation into my listening habits, which, owing to my anxiety, I was unable to expound upon, I left the station. Deeply ashamed, I vowed to never show up unprepared for a public appearance again.
The next day, I enrolled in an improvisational acting class.
Patrick McGrath, Ph.D., a contributor to Psychology Today magazine, has a sign in his office that reads, “Do something every day that scares you.” It’s a refrain popularized by those who would have us believe that fear is a cauldron from which emotional fortitude is forged. While psychologists are quick to clarify that too much fear or fear avoided or confronted in unhealthy ways can be emotionally damaging, actively managed fear – the kind of trepidation that comes with trying new things – can grow us in ways we might never have imagined.
When I signed up for improv classes, it was with the hope that on the other side of terror would emerge a stronger, more confident me. It was about time, I thought. I was about to turn 56.
People walk through the fiery ring of fear for all kinds of reasons, but everyone I spoke to about their own experience of trying something outside their comfort zone had some similar things to say about the results. Read on for a bit more about my improv classes, about the fear and the glory of one hang glider, and about the challenges and rewards of taking to the rough woods on a motorbike.