10 Things I Learned From Jordon Peterson on Fear

Fear is an interesting topic and a paralyzing reality. I researched Jordon Peterson on fear. Here are 10 things I learned.

Jordan Bernt Peterson is a Canadian clinical psychologist and a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto. He began to receive widespread attention in the late 2010s for his views on cultural and political issues.

He has taken the social media universe by storm and has amassed a significant following of young to middle-aged men.

Mr. Peterson inspired my recently published article – The Problem with too Much Empathy

Jordon Peterson on Fear

Robust, concise, and bone-chillingly true

Jordon rubs a lot of people up the wrong way because of his sharp and often cold-hearted logic. However, his arguments are often robust, concise, and bone-chillingly true.

Love him or hate him the man has a habit of being correct on the topics he discusses. Correct insofar as his points of view are often demolishing to the opposition.

He’s not always easy to listen to but more often than not he certainly is worth listening to.

Today I deliver to you Jordon Peterson’s thoughts on fear.

10 Things I Learned From Mr. Peterson on Fear

1. The goal is not to be less scared but to become braver

I really liked this thought by Jordon Peterson as I often witness people trying to control their environment in order to make life easier and more comfortable.

The thing is this mentality can create a psychological trap, whereby if anything falls out of place you’ll be overwhelmed by it.

The idea that you don’t need to make everything perfect but instead need to be braver, is for me a very hope-filled statement.

People can get too tied up in trying to make things perfect losing sight of the fact they just need to take the plunge and commit to the moment of facing their fear.

2. Facing the fear voluntarily will activate your brain in a completely different way

Choosing to face your fear will generate a completely different outcome than if your fear comes upon you.

When choosing to face your fear positive emotion will be utilized and your brain will think constructively.

However, if you are imagining your fear negative emotion will be utilized, you will become closed, your mind will shut down and you stay in a state of being a victim.

3. Repeatedly imagine overcoming the fear backed up by baby steps of action

Using the power of visualization can be instrumental in overcoming your fear providing it is backed up by small actions.

Without the small actions, your visualization is nothing more than daydreaming or fantasizing.

Make the actions as small as you need to, but start somewhere.

If you’re afraid of elevators. Print out a picture of one. Let that be your first step. Become familiar with it. Until you stop being affected by it. Then take it up a gear.

4. You only need to discuss the fear to point you are okay with it

Sometimes talking about fear is just as tough as the reality of the fear. Know that you are in control here and as soon as you want to stop talking about it you can.

Only take the conversation to the point where you feel comfortable to do so.

This threshold of comfort will increase as you practice this.

5. Face what you can until you become bored of it

This also touches on point number 3.

If you can face a fear in small increments, you then have the ability to familiarise yourself with it to the point of boredom.

Boredom isn’t often thought of has a tool, and it’s not really a tool as much as it is an indicator or progress.

The boredom indicates that you are so use to something that it no longer impacts you to the point of thinking of it as a fear.

It just is something that happens to exist and now you are ready for something else.

6. You don’t have to relax in order to face the thing you are afraid of, you just have to face them

This also touches on the first point but sometimes we have to hear things in multiple ways before they resonate with us, so this is certainly worth the overlap.

In the pursuit of overcoming your fear, you must value the discomfort that comes along with it.

Waiting until you feel relaxed and at peace is most likely going to keep you away from facing your fear.

Trying to make everything just right will ultimately be your own way of deluding yourself.

7. Almost all learning comes in spite of fear

This one kind of had me stumped because it’s so easy to disagree with what Jordon Peterson is saying here and I would challenge him to rephrase it.

Certainly, not all learning comes in spite of fear, but what I feel he meant is that all growth comes in spite of fear.

It is easy enough to learn new information without really growing as a person and I believe it’s this growth more so than the learning that will always happen in spite of fear.

8. If the thing that frightens you is apposing your movement towards a valued goal do not turn away

There is a time to face fears and a time not to. Certainly, we must choose our battles wisely, but this thought by Jordan I thought was excellent because it is insightful and wise and teaches you in one sentence when you need to rise to the occasion.

If the fear is preventing you from what you believe is right, good, and just in the world, then you have a personal, moral obligation to stand up for yourself. Not to do so will leave you feeling insignificant and defeated.

9. No-one actually knows what you should do, more than you do

Jordon Peterson on fear – We often delay facing our fears in the thought and hope that someone else has the answers or that you don’t yet know enough to take the plunge.

The truth is no-one knows better than you what you should do in your life and until you admit that you’ll never really fully step into adulthood.

You’ll always be looking for that authority figure to guide you and hide behind, justifying it over and over again with your own logic in your own head.

10. When you decide to stop being a victim you will be ready to face your fears

Until you make this very important decision in your mind you will always be susceptible to your fears, regardless of what they may be.

When you make that decision to stop tolerating anything less than what you want you will always be subject to your own fears.

This is a key moment in the overcoming of fear that cannot be bypassed.

Choose to be a victim or choose to face your fears.

Jordon Peterson on fear – Whether you face your fears or not is something only you can decide, but if don’t the consequences are that your suffering makes you bitter. Your bitterness makes you resentful. Your resentment makes you vengeful and once you go down that road the world becomes a very dark place.

One day you’re a terrified little boy, the next you could be shooting up your fellow classmates in your local school.

Everything has its origins and when we judge people we contribute to the environment where fears are suppressed which leads to chaos and harm.

If you liked this article please check out The Problem with too Much Empathy