He s right. I am afraid of heights, and have been since I was eleven years old. But it made me realize yet again how strongly our beliefs, choices and actions influence those of our children. All the rest are learned in their homes, from their peers, at school, and during their extracurricular activities. Fears can be acquired from what someone says or from what may have been seen on television.
Healthy fears are positive.
A fear of getting lost in a strange town, for example, may prevent children from venturing too far from home. Or a fear of rattlesnakes may discourage them from reaching under shaded bushes while hiking. Unfounded, non-productive fears, however, can totally destroy our dreams, ambitions, relationships, fortunes even our lives. And because we are such powerful role models for our children, we need to be constantly mindful of inadvertently transferring our own fears to them. I believe the only way to overcome fears is to do just that in the spirit of Christopher Columbus, the first astronauts into space, and many of our other historical and modern day heroes.