Geena Davis, about to utter her famous line in The Fly, 1986: "Be afraid. Be very afraid."

"I do not say we should live forever,

for who could bear it,

only that we should one day enter completely into life."

--Marvin Bell

This course is not for everyone.

To do what we're going to do over the next 21 days--reconnect with what matters most to you, and express it passionately in your writing and speaking--you will have to work against many of the things that make your life possible.

The life you are living, no doubt, calls upon you to neutralize and avoid fear repeatedly, all day. From the moment you step out of bed (an act of courage if there ever was one) to your trip to work (driving, walking, or transit, it's all dangerous), through all the tasks and contacts all day, until you return home (usually to more tasks, more contacts), you are actively engaged in anything but the two things you will need to better connect with your purpose and unique voice in the world:

experiencing fear, and
being alone.

That's it. That's all. Everything else we do will be variations on these two things.

This week, we will be mostly focused on identifying and addressing the obstacles to your bravest work with fear, and creating some practices that will help you have more valuable time to yourself.

Ever had to steer in the direction of the skid? If so, you've already sensed what we'll be doing. When you feel yourself fishtailing on the ice, you can't resist. The only way out is to flow through. In the moment that you do that, you're connected to the car and the ice in a way that can't really be explained. Coming out of it alive, your heart will be pounding with terror at the force of fate--and exultation at your own flow and grace.

That's what we're going to do this week. We're going to let our fears drive.

I know it's going to feel clumsy at first. Especially as we access the things that matter most to us, we may find ourselves being a lot more like this guy than like this guy.

But stick with it. By the end of the week, you will know yourself far better, and that much closer to your authentic voice.

What To Do

I suggest you do only one lesson a day at the most, and really let the prompts and resources for each lesson sink in before advancing to the next. You can also slow down a bit if you wish, doing this work at your own pace for longer than 21 days. I'll explain the whole course's trajectory in the next lesson.

You will need a journal for this class. The evidence is building for the superior benefits of handwriting to learning and creativity. I find that it's almost impossible for me to be truly reflective unless I do at least some of my initial work in longhand.

My exercises are designed to work on your consciousness over a few hours or days. You may find you need a very small notebook to carry with you for notes to transfer to your journal later.

You also want to make sure you can draw and doodle in your journal, so ask yourself whether you'd rather have lined or unlined paper.

Exercise 1: Follow Your Fear

Take 24 hours to notice and follow your fear. I have some questions below for you to read now and keep thinking about during this time.

Expect a battle: Fear is a shape-shifter by its nature, plus we've helped it out by providing a lot of hiding places for it in our lives. It takes many forms in our lives, from irritation to anger to self-loathing, but the root of all these feelings, I'm convinced, is fear.

The goal of the following questions is to make fear as tangible and real as you can. Answer these questions in your journal in more or less this order, or pick and choose, or create your own. It matters not. What matters is putting a form--a matter--to this set of emotions and reactions that likes to float through your life on background, preventing you from your best work.

I welcome a summary of your answers to these questions by email or in comments. I'll be glad to comment briefly if you'd like.

Are you aware of feeling fear on a regular basis? (it's okay if the answer is no)

If not, is there a feeling in the same family you'd say you feel (anxiety, dread, even just irritability? Fear is great at masquerade.)

Is it during the day or night?

In general, what kinds of moments or situations are you aware of these feelings?

What are the most predictable thoughts that accompany your fear?

Visualize your fear as a being or a thing. If your fear was a color, what color would it be?

What would it smell like? What sounds does it make?

Does it look or behave the way you expected?

Imagine your surroundings. Where are you?

What are your fear's special powers?

If your fear is a being, speak to it. Ask it any question you want. What does it answer/do?
OR
If it is an inanimate object, pick it up or touch it. What does it feel like?

Exercise 2: Adopt Your Fear

Find a place in your home or workspace where you can imagine the fear remaining with you, out in the open, available to be looked at, spoken to, or touched whenever you'd like. If you feel you need to contain it, by all means do. Just do not hide it or put it away. You might even make a drawing or a small figure to represent it. Keep it before you.

I know, I know: This is creepy. You may experience feelings similar to those we experienced as little kids, afraid of the dark.

Hic Sunt Dracones. Later in the course, we will put them to rest.

(cool read: No old maps actually contained the words "hic sunt dracones." Robinson Meyer unpacks the facts behind the phrase).