Early in the morning, out for a drive in the country, I spotted a deer bounding across the two lane road I was driving down. It was still a bit foggy and I decided to slow down just in case another was waiting on the side of the road. Deer tend to travel in packs and they sometimes set up this type of ambush by first distracting the driver with one pack member while another waits for just the right time to kick the headlights. As I approached I noticed a little faun wobbling onto the road behind it’s mother. Since I had taken the precaution of slowing down I was able to stop in time, but it was still a close call. Seeing my car the little faun stopped in its tracks. The bumper of my car came to a halt just inches from the faun and anticipating being hit the little guy collapsed right there on the road in the middle of my lane. It was so cute I couldnt help but laugh out loud as it collected its wits, shakily got up, and continued it’s unsure wobble across the road.
The fear that little dear experienced caused it to do the worst possible thing at that moment. Given the circumstances it survived, but had it simply laid down in the road in front of any other driver it would have had a much lower chance of survival. Unfortunately in fear we can’t always control what we do. Our flight or fight (or sit) mechanisms take control and we do what we are predisposed to do. This little dear only knew the comfort of laying down, and that’s all it could do in that circumstance to get away from eminent danger.
As humans, beings who are able to interact temporally, fear can have an impact on more than just the present. Our decisions can readily affect our future and impact our understanding of the past. When we make decisions from a point of fear we’re limiting our foresight and hindsight in a way that will almost certainly result in a poor decision. We should try to remove the possibility of making decisions in fear by first acknowledging then anticipating the circumstances in which we may become afraid and training ourselves to react. Recognizing and acknowledging fear is important to learn how and why we respond to it. Anticipating fear is making decisions before that moment in which we become afraid, considering a circumstance and deciding the course of action needed to overcome the challenge. Through training we can direct the response of the fight or flight mechanism of our bodies be prepared to respond in an ideal manner. The little dear will hopefully not stop on the road the next time it sees headlights. Although, it may have learned that laying down in the road is a good way to stop a car, hopefully not.