Being Scared Means We Are Paying Attention
There have been a lot of things written about fear and even more research done on the topic. We all get scared and we all deal with fear in different ways. On Tuesday night while watching the new season debut of NCIS, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) made a great comment to Special Agent Timothy McGee (Sean Murray): “Being scared (afraid) doesn’t mean your weak, it means you are paying attention.” Feeling scared or anxious can sometimes heighten our alertness and focus, as our brain perceives a threat and activates the body’s stress response. This heightened state can make us more attentive to certain details in our environment.
This “paying attention” when we are scared in an important psychological response. Our attention becomes laser-focused on the perceived threat. As a result, it’s really hard to concentrate on other stuff. That’s a good thing if there’s an actual threat. Funny how the show NCIS can remind us that fear helps us stay in the present moment and to focus.
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