How a movie taught me to stop letting fear inhibit me
Growing up, I was pretty fearless. As I got older and reached around late middle school, I became more fearful. I thought too deeply about everything. A lot of things made me on edge. I was especially scared to try new things, talk to new people, or really go anywhere new. Anything that was unfamiliar to me was terrifying. When I was around 13, my mom and I watched the movie “We Bought a Zoo”. Honestly, I don’t even remember what the plot of this movie is, but I do remember one line from Mr. Matt Damon himself: “Sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage. Just, literally 20 seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.”
This quote had a profound effect on my life. People always say that sometimes you have to force yourself to do what you don’t want to, or get out of your comfort zone. As someone who had a lot of fears, I never knew how to make that happen. Something about this quote made it much more manageable. Everything I was afraid of became less daunting. I didn’t have to be brave enough to go to a new place for two hours, I just had to take those 20 seconds to get myself through the door. Once you take that initial step, everything is so much easier. Oftentimes, the scariest part is not the task itself, but getting yourself to do that task. While you may still have nerves once you get through those 20 seconds, the toughest part is usually over.
I still use this tactic to this day. While I do live in less fear than I used to, everyone has things that make them feel scared from time to time. For example, if I am going to try a new activity that I know I will be bad at, I am usually pretty nervous. If I am sitting in my car, anxiously waiting to walk in, I tell myself “20 seconds of bravery”. For those 20 seconds, I shut off my brain. This lets me get up, get out of the car, and walk through the door. At this point the whole situation is already less foreign, and it’s not like I am leaving once I already walked in. I have found this to be the best way (for me) to get out of my comfort zone.
My mom was the real reason this quote stuck with me. I remember when we watched this movie originally, she was very impacted by this line too. To this day, she does not let me forget it. Everytime I text her about something I am nervous about, she responds with “20 seconds of bravery, you got this!” I don’t know how something so simple helped me so much, but I am so glad I watched that movie six years ago. The next time you are scared or anxious about something, tell yourself that you only need those 20 seconds of courage to get yourself there!