On to adventure

What drives us to take risks? It is known that the most primal feeling in any animal is fear. It is fear that governs the preservation of any species. It is fear that leads to hunting strategies, the construction of shelters, the creation of communities, etc. In human beings, fear is embedded in almost all our actions, from the moment we become aware of death. Or rather, of the unknown.

What life experience teaches us is precisely how to deal with this fear and transform it into other emotions (some more constructive than others, from isolation to anger). But one of the most valued is, without a doubt, the antithesis of fear: courage.

Transforming fear into courage is possibly the most extraordinary capacity we attribute to any living being. We consider that facing barriers, difficulties, pressures, and dangers is the great manifestation of life in resisting the imminence of death. Whether it’s the fragile plant that withstands harsh weather, the young animal that manages to escape predators, the sperm that resists the immune system, or a baby that endures labor, and all the examples from adult life and work that test our abilities, our resilience, and our own health every day.

In terms of human behavior, what for other living beings is merely a means of survival, in us is seen as a personal overcoming of moral value. This value stems from the fact that we consider courage a conscious resistance to fear. Some flee from fear, avoid it, but courage is attributed to those who accept and confront it. And it is precisely based on the moral value of this idea that we are driven to “overcome” many of our own conditioning factors, whether intrinsic or stemming from external influences.

Because everything of moral value has levels (from the nine circles of hell to the seventh heaven), courage becomes even more transcendent when, beyond our own “good,” it manifests itself for the “good” of others.

In my Erotic Coaching sessions, I encounter people who come primarily seeking the courage to face their fears, whether internal and/or external. These fears, which sometimes take the form of shame, shyness, self-deprecation, lack of self-esteem or self-confidence, are often confronted by the desire to give the unknown (the greatest of fears) a chance, whether in processes of self-knowledge and discovery, in acquiring tools to improve relationships, or in opening up to new experiences that they consider more or less risky.

In this decision to seek to transform fear into courage, it becomes clear that the transformation is much broader. The main courage lies in the decision itself. This means that fear has become more important than the antithesis of courage. Fear has given rise to curiosity, desire, and the will to take a step forward, with a positive and constructive attitude, towards the unknown.

On this journey, the path ends up revealing the person’s true potential for the true pleasure of living, because the availability for more conscious pleasure begins precisely where the conditioning of the most unconscious fear ends.

It is on the line that separates these two emotions, but which simultaneously defines them, that the notion of adventure is born.

Adventure is the leap that fear takes over this line in search of pleasure. There is no adventure without fear. It is fear that defines the adventurous spirit because it is precisely in the unknown and the unexplored that adventure resides.

It is then that fear transforms into courage, and courage, rewarded, transforms into pleasure. A cycle that gains even more meaning when we realize that the leap that fear takes towards pleasure implies not only courage (because courage considers consequences) but also a leap of faith. This faith, which has nothing religious about it, is the faith that we suddenly discover we have in ourselves. And it is at this moment that everything becomes even more transformative. From fear, we have created courage, a spirit of adventure and a belief in ourselves.

It is this appealing result that leads us to want to take risks. Whether when we experience something new, when we demonstrate our emotions, or when we open ourselves up and give to others. It is by overcoming the fear of fear itself that we realize that the true adventure is in daring to believe in ourselves. 🔥

Curious to know more? Book an Erotic Coaching session.