Riding with Fear, Part 2: Psychological Fear

Riders hear and feel the call of the fear alarm for two main reasons. One is the awareness of the possibility of physical injury or pain. The second has to do with threats of a nonphysical nature. This is the kind of fear you feel when you experience threats to your emotional self. Fears of failure humiliation and disappointing others are common psychologically based fears.
Anyone who has experienced these kinds of fears knows all too well how they can drive your alarm system into overdrive just as quickly as if a lion walked into the room. The resulting effect on the body wreaks havoc with your riding pleasure and effectiveness.
Whats So Scary?
We all share worries about not doing our best or meeting our goals but for some riders these anxieties become overwhelming. Jodi is an example of one such rider. At home in training her skills are solid and she clearly displays the talent to be competitive in her division. However when she arrives at the show grounds a distinct change comes over her. Jodi begins to worry excessively about letting other people down. She tells herself she needs to do well or everyone will be disappointed especially herself. These thoughts ultimately interrupt her focus and she often makes unnecessary errors such as going off course. Jodis fear lies in her perception of the act of competing. She has associated performing with proving her worth as a person. These high stakes mean she must be perfect or suffer the ultimate loss herself.
Sound irrational? At a distance we can see Jodis thoughts are unreasonable and the pressure she puts on herself unbearable. But that doesnt stop her or many other riders from suffering this kind of fear. If you are one of these riders you likely know it. Youre at least aware that your fears seem somehow out of proportion or you have people around telling you thats the case. The good news is you dont have to continue to suffer endlessly there are steps you can take to shrink the intensity and size of your fears.
Get To Know Your Internal Alarmist
You can think of your fear as being driven by an internal alarmist. This little creature whispers things in your ear that make your worry spin out of control. Its a wellmeaning sort of voice it wants you to succeed after all. However its also extremely fearful and wants you