Webster’s dictionary defines fear as an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by expectation or awareness of danger. Experience teaches us to fear some things, but some come naturally to us.
One such fear I had was the stage fear. Ever since I was little, facing a crowd always brought a sense of unpleasantness. I couldn’t stand in front of a crowd without my mind going blank because I was too aware of the countless set of eyes staring at me. The result was I ended up missing a lot of opportunities. It was during my 6th grade that decided to start working on it. I started reading books to help me in my journey – it was at that time I came across a book called ‘The monk who sold his ferrari by Robin Sharma. A concept given in the book stuck to me. The concept was - perform a new activity for 21 days for that to become a habit. I started reading newspapers in front of a mirror. I imagined I was reading to an audience. It felt weird at times, but I decided to stick by the 21 days rule no matter what. Slowly, I started reading to a real audience – my parents and my relatives.
This started giving me courage. Finally, when I was in my 9th grade, I got an opportunity to address an audience during my school annual day. When I walked on to the stage, I still felt the same feeling of unpleasantness and discomfort, but this time, it didn’t pull me down, instead I felt the challenge fuelled me up and I started feeling more and more confident as I began speaking. I basked in my fear. My fear was no longer my enemy, I had ended up befriending it.
This experience later helped play a profound role in my life as I went on to the stage a number of times till now in different roles – as an actor, as a keyboard player, as a singer and as a public speaker. William Clemet Stone has rightly said- Thinking will not overcome fear but action will.
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