If You Don’t Want to Be Eaten, Don’t Act Like a Prey!
Fear and panic are killers. We need to learn to overcome these instincts if we want to survive. Face your fear!
I was reminded of our natural instinct to run away from predators, watching that poor kid get eaten by a shark in Egypt a little while ago.
Remember that? A horrible sight. I can’t even imagine being on the shore and watching my son die and get eaten by a shark, as his father had to—unimaginable tragedy. As I was watching the shark attacking this twenty-four-year-old kid, all of my alerts kept sounding off. Before I continue, let me make one thing very clear.
One thing is theory, and the other is reality. I have no idea how I would react should I find myself facing a ten-foot shark in the water. I would, in all honestly, probably shit my pants and die, despite wanting to face the beast, just like the rest of you.
That said, I know that everything that kid was doing was wrong. He didn’t stand a chance. Here’s the theory from shark diving experts that may one day save your life.
Always maintain eye contact and observe the sharks around you.
If one comes close, never run or swim away from it in panic, splashing around like crazy. This type of behavior triggers their predatory instinct, and they have no choice but to pursue you as you are acting like prey—like food, in other words.
Always face the shark and try to put something between yourself and the shark - anything, preferably not your body parts.
If you have nothing, place your hand on the shark's shout and gently push them away. That’s above the mouth, not in the mouth!
Whatever you do, don’t panic, and don’t run away. This is a death sentence. Move slowly and keep an eye out for attack.
Sharks, like other predators, are instinctual animals. They seek easy prey and don’t like a fight if they can avoid it. All predators search for the weakest member of any group to prey upon.
Except for the Predator species from the movies, but they’re made up. If not about some excitement of the hunt, that’s solely in the human domain, and maybe cats, because cats are evil. It’s about surviving by eating.
Predators identify their prey according to its behavior, especially when encountering creatures that are not their usual prey, such as humans.
If you run away from the predator and show them you are afraid, they will “smell” that fear, and their killer instincts will take over. I can’t comment on this phenomenon regarding shark behavior from personal experience, but I can assure you that it works with dogs, cats, and humans alike.
What happens if you run away from an aggressive dog?
It runs after you, and you’re going to get bitten. What happens if you face it, show no fear, and start commanding it, demanding its submission? At worst, you’ll confuse the dog and face the threat head-on, giving yourself a chance to fight it off.
Prey doesn’t demand things from the predator, and if they’ve had some training and experience with humans, that will ultimately discourage them from pursuing you. You stop being weak prey and become a dominant alpha something.
Whatever the outcome, running away, screaming, and showing your fear is the worst thing you can ever do in front of a predator. Not just animals- human predators, as well!
Have you ever watched the most vicious killers of them all - domesticated cats - chase down a fly? As long as the fly is running away from them, they’re in pursuit, but should the fly change direction, the cat becomes the prey. I laughed my ass off watching this behavior over and over again.
Again, I’m not saying facing predators and staying calm is in any way easy or that I’m some Rambo who would face down a towering Grizzly or dance with a Great White shark. Hell no! I get all queasy just watching YouTube videos of these encounters, and I can’t for the life of me understand the idiots who chose to jump in shark-infested waters - on purpose! Like, not at gunpoint or anything, freaking nutjobs.
Facts are still facts, though. Running away from a predator, showing weakness and fear, is the worst thing you can ever do. Standing your ground, remaining calm, and appearing confident is your best chance in most cases. You might still die, though.
But how can we overcome this natural instinct in ourselves?
The examples mentioned above were extremes. The best course of action that gives us the best odds of survival is not to face these predators on their turf but to avoid them altogether. However, occasionally, perhaps just once in a lifetime, you will have to stand your ground facing off a row of growling teeth (or knives) and fight your instinct to run away.
I know of only two ways that can help in this matter.
Knowledge. Understanding the predator-prey relationship (or bully-victim) and what is the proper course of action.
Practice and exposure. The more often you face your fears and put yourself in that situation, the easier it will be to overrun your instincts.
But how does one practice a staredown with a shark or a bear? One doesn’t. You avoid encountering them at all costs unless it’s your job. Don’t be an idiot or a hero. What we talked about is the absolute last resort, and I hope to God none of us ever have to test it out. Let’s leave that to the professionals.
Here’s a dirty little secret. This post is not about facing off animal attacks, round-house kicking Grizzlies, or knocking Great White’s teeth out. It’s about facing your fears.
Preparing yourself for the things that scare you the most involves learning all you can, deepening your understanding of the matter, and then mentally rehearsing—practicing facing those situations.
The predator in this flawed analogy is the fear itself
Run away from fear, and it will chase you forever. Face it boldly, and it will disappear into nothingness.
There are many ways of dealing with crippling fears and anxiety. I write about it often, as I have been plagued by fear and anxiety for the majority of my life. I can’t even begin to tell you the relief, freedom, and inner peace you can experience if you are willing to face your demons, the things that scare you the most in life.
We’re all different, so no approach will work the same for everyone. You’ll need to find out what works for you.
Here are some suggestions for facing your fear:
Exposure therapy.
Either in life or in your mind, put yourself in situations you fear as often as you can. Continued exposure will numb you to the fear, familiarize you with the object of your fear, and it should loosen its grip on you.Learning and practicing.
If you are afraid of getting beat up, for example, learning martial arts and getting stronger will do wonders in alleviating this fear. If you fear dogs, learning all about them and spending time with them in controlled environments will help. Practicing extreme driving situations will help you rewrite your instincts on the road. They’re always wrong, by the way.Journaling and processing your fears.
Write down your fear and try to get to the bottom of it. What is it that you are really afraid of? Hint - it’s usually not the first thing that comes to mind. Then, list all the possible scenarios that could result if your fear comes true. Ultimately, choose the absolute worst-case scenario and dissect it in detail. Then, visualize it happening to you. Completely immerse yourself in that situation. Accept it as if it has already happened, and be free of the fear for you have already mentally experienced the worst.Mental screen technique.
Another interesting way to face your fears is by visualizing yourself dealing with your fear, as if you were watching it on a theater screen. For example, if you fear heights, you see yourself in the third person, standing somewhere high and experiencing discomfort. Then, imagine zooming out into another theater a level higher. Now you’re watching yourself, observing the screen where you’re standing somewhere high. You see yourself - the watcher of that screen, and you see the screen where you are facing your fear. Continue with this zooming out until the scene no longer has any effect on you. About ten screens within the screens should do the trick, if not sooner.Accept your mortality and the inevitability of your fear coming true.
As long as we resist facing our biggest fears, they will haunt us. When we resist an outcome in our mind, we are burdened by it. Once we genuinely accept something as inevitable and out of our control, a burden is lifted, and we experience relief. This works best in extreme cases, such as fearing death, defeat, loss, or going broke, for example. Die before you die and you will never worry about death again, finally being able to live your fullest life.
Fears are the demons that haunt you
They can only keep their power over you if you allow them to. Face them, stare them dead in their eyes, and see them run back from whence they came. Never run from fear or predators - that is a display of weakness, and the predator, animal, human, or your mind will pounce on you instinctively.
We are all wired to run away from predators and from our fears. It’s uncomfortable, and facing them seems more dangerous than running away. While there are examples where that is true with predators, you just have to outrun them. It’s never true with your fears. Wherever you may run or hide, you’re taking them with you. The only way to be free of them is to stand your ground, face them boldly, and accept your fate.
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