FEAR OF BEING JUDGED


















“You need to let go of your fear and anxiety
of being judged by others.”
- Gavin Newsom
One of the two books published by THE DAWN CLUB on 11 th June, 2017 – (the Certification Day) was titled – ‘My Achilles’ Heel’. In this book, our little ones, young ones and some adults had written about their major (two or three) weaknesses. Just as the Greek warrior, Achilles, had a weak spot, his heel, we all have our weak spots… our own Achilles’ Heels. So, while putting together the writings of our little ones, young ones and adults, I came across this fact: almost all of them placed the Stage Fear as their major Achilles’ Heel…

Did it surprise me?

Not at all…

For centuries, the fear of facing an audience has been mankind’s most dreaded fear. I, too, suffered from it as a young boy, so badly, that it literally tried to rob away from my heart the charm of living… yes, till I discovered the mantra: my vocation… what I wanted to do in life.  The moment I discovered my vocation – to be a fine teacher and writer – there came in me the desire and determination to overcome my stage fear. Since then, I have spent years not only helping myself overcome this handicap, but also helping – through THE DAWN CLUB – thousands of individuals, particularly the young ones to do the same.

So, if you ask me why I dreaded speaking in public, or if you ask anyone for that matter, you are bound to get this answer: Fear of being judged!

What will they think about me? What if I go wrong? Will I be up-to-the-mark? Will I be accepted or will I be rejected? What if they laugh, tease, criticize, etc… etc… etc…!

As I tried to deal with my own stage fear, I was relived to realize this simple truth: If others in the audience, too, had the same ghosts inside their heads as I did, and if we all sailed in a ‘leaking boat’… where and how in the world would they find the need or the time to judge me? And, suppose… even if they did, what difference would it make? Just as I lived in a glass house, they, too, did… So, they had no business, nor the inclination, to throw stones at my glass house, you see!

“We all live inside our own heads,” I read in an article, some days ago. How true! They live in their heads, and I live in mine… They live in their glass houses, I live in mine… They sail in their leaking boats, I sail in mine…

So, why fear ghosts when they don’t exist?

In life, each one of us has to make this choice: to believe in our dreams or believe in our nightmares!


GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Usha Prasadh

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