Fear (and being frightened) 

 

This is the rush of energy that we feel when we make some (often automatic) assessment that something we value is or may be threatened. Unresisted fear will typically give us energy that we can use, even providing us with a sense of confidence. Most of what we call fear is not fear; it is resisted fear. It is what I call dufear (dammed-up fear).

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Dufear (and being dufrightened)

 

This is resisted fear, fear that we are resisting because it’s the “bad guy” and the “enemy,” as something unwanted. Dufear is created automatically resulting from our habit to resist our fear. Dufear results in less energy and less resourcefulness. This resistance is automatic; it happens without direct intention. Most of us started building this habit when we were three or four years old. Worry and anxiety are examples of dufear.  Another less obvious example of resisted fear is guilt. The Undoing Fear process (to be accurate it should be called the “Undoing Dufear” process) will turn dufear back into energy and resourcefulness. If you want to understand how guilt is resisted fear, enter this door: Undoing guilt.

 

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

—Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd President of the United States)

 

Franklin, you were wrong (incorrect). Fear, unresisted fear, is our friend, a great source of energy and even confidence. If we changed the quote to, “The only thing we have to fear is dufear itself,” it would be more accurate, but still misses the mark as a broad generalization. There are definitely things that are helpful to be frightened of (but not dufrightened of).

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Paper-threat fear cf. valid-risk fear

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