{"id":97925,"date":"2023-04-05T16:24:31","date_gmt":"2023-04-05T20:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=97925"},"modified":"2023-04-07T16:42:13","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T20:42:13","slug":"pema-chodron-fear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/pema-chodron-fear\/","title":{"rendered":"Pema Ch\u00f6dr\u00f6n: Fear Can Help You If You Let It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>How can you use your fear to your advantage? What&#8217;s Pema Ch\u00f6dr\u00f6n&#8217;s advice on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-face-your-fears\/\">facing your fears<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <em>When Things Fall Apart<\/em> by Pema Ch\u00f6dr\u00f6n, fear is described as an emotion that you face head-on, not one that you run away from. If you want to live a life without your darkest fears, you need to confront them and experience them fully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s look at how turning toward fear will ultimately help you in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-turn-toward-fear-and-let-go-of-hope\">Turn Toward Fear, and Let Go of Hope<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Pema Ch\u00f6dr\u00f6n, fear is impossible to get rid of<strong> without turning toward it, experiencing it fully, and letting go of hope for an ideal life<\/strong>.&nbsp; Avoiding or covering up any negative emotion, including fear, only strengthens fear. And grasping onto hope for something better only makes us resist reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you grapple with difficulty and uncertainty, you will inevitably experience longing for things to improve and fear that things will not improve or even worsen. One way to have a relationship with fear is to pause before you distract yourself from it or try to fix it. Instead, become familiar with how fear feels and don\u2019t try to change it. Letting yourself feel your fear is an opportunity to learn more about yourself, become your own friend, be humble, and tap into your courage.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Emotions, including uncomfortable ones like fear, are a natural and necessary part of the human experience. When we try to suppress or distract ourselves from them, <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/5163576\/ignoring-your-emotions-bad-for-your-health\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">we create a sense of inner conflict that can cause physical and mental health problems<\/a>. Many psychology experts agree that avoiding or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/emotional-suppression\/\">suppressing emotions<\/a> is unhealthy because when we don\u2019t process and release them in a healthy way, they can cause chronic and toxic stress responses in our bodies. Conversely, acknowledging and accepting our emotions can help to reduce stress, promote <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/emotional-health-and-well-being\/\">emotional well-being<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-improve-your-overall-health\/\">improve overall health<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Ch\u00f6dr\u00f6n, turning toward fear is helpful but not enough. To find true freedom from fear, you must rethink <em>hope<\/em> and let it go. She explains that hope\u2014carrying a desire and vision for something better\u2014can be just as detrimental to peace as fear because it keeps you from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/acceptance-of-reality\/\">accepting reality<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/living-in-the-present-moment\/\">living in the present moment<\/a>, where you can find all your wisdom and strength. Holding onto hope sets you up for disappointment and more suffering. However, when you release hope that pain and insecurity can be eliminated from your life, you\u2019ll stop trying to achieve lasting security and comfort (which is unattainable) and gain the confidence to relax and accept uncertainty.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We tend to see hope<em> <\/em>as the antidote to fear. But Ch\u00f6dr\u00f6n explains the people of Tibet see fear and hope as two sides of the same coin: They understand that the fear of loss and pain comes from having hope that circumstances can be ideal. The root of hope and fear are the false beliefs we have about reality\u2014we feel we lack something, things are going wrong, suffering is unacceptable, and someone or something is to blame.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cultivating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/eckhart-tolle-meditation-mindfulness\/\">mindfulness<\/a> and compassion can help you turn toward fear and release hope. To build <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/compassion-for-yourself\/\">compassion for yourself<\/a> and better understand your emotional responses, accept that fear and hope are natural responses to suffering. When we go through hard times, Ch\u00f6dr\u00f6n believes there is an enormous possibility for renewal and positive change, but we overlook the potential in hardship because we are too attached to our false beliefs about suffering. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cultivate-mindfulness\/\">Cultivate mindfulness<\/a> and compassion and you will gain confidence in your ability to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/embrace-reality\/\">embrace reality<\/a> with acceptance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Reframing Hope: Understanding the Buddhist Perspective on Letting Go of Desire<\/strong><br><br>For many, giving up hope to cope with difficult experiences will likely seem counterintuitive and counterproductive. This may be especially true if you are from a predominantly Christian country like the United States, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/hope-Christianity\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hope is one of the most cherished Christian values, along with love and virtue<\/a>.&nbsp;<br><br>Mental health research also shows the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hsph.harvard.edu\/news\/hsph-in-the-news\/health-benefits-of-hope\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">many benefits of having a hopeful and optimistic outlook<\/a>, including living longer and avoiding many chronic health conditions. From this Western perspective, giving up hope in the face of adversity is a sign that you aren\u2019t coping well and may need help. Therefore, the language that Ch\u00f6dr\u00f6n and other Buddhist teachers use to discuss the benefits of giving up hope could be confusing.<br><br>It may be helpful to think of the hope Ch\u00f6dr\u00f6n talks about as <em>desire<\/em>\u2014the desire for things to be different than they actually are\u2014which is born out of our fear of suffering. Ch\u00f6dr\u00f6n encourages us to let go of this form of desire (hope) which causes more suffering. Tara Brach approaches desire differently: She explains that the best way to relate to desire of any kind, including the desire for something to be different and better, is to <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/radical-acceptance\/1-page-summary#fear-and-desire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">be mindful of how desire feels, have compassion for our feelings, and radically accept them.<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How can you use your fear to your advantage? What&#8217;s Pema Ch\u00f6dr\u00f6n&#8217;s advice on facing your fears? In When Things Fall Apart by Pema Ch\u00f6dr\u00f6n, fear is described as an emotion that you face head-on, not one that you run away from. If you want to live a life without your darkest fears, you need to confront them and experience them fully. Let&#8217;s look at how turning toward fear will ultimately help you in the long run.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":89704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,43,6],"tags":[966],"class_list":["post-97925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-self-improvement","category-spiritual","tag-when-things-fall-apart","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Pema Ch\u00f6dr\u00f6n: Fear Can Help You If You Let It - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For Pema Ch\u00f6dr\u00f6n, fear is nothing to be afraid of. 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