Is fear overrated? Honestly, how many things do we worry about regularly that never come to pass? It really comes down to the fact that we as humans are just awful at quantifying what exactly we should be concerned about. As today’s guest Jeff Aronson so eloquently states, ” We dwell on, and overestimate, the probability of almost impossibly unlikely events, worrying about mere possibilities while ignoring real probabilities”.
Jeff then shares some interesting stats about some of the things we generally are scared of, but really have no control over. The chances of an asteroid hitting Earth: 1 in 74,817,414. A Terrorist attack: 1 in 10,000,000. Dying in a plane crash: 1 in 11,000,000. A lightning strike: 1 in 101,000. How about a shark attack? 1 in 300,000,000.
The things that we have control over we often overlook and at sometimes outright neglect. For example, many do not take control of their diets, as heart disease kills 700,000 of us annually and two-thirds of the population are overweight or obese. The CDC states that 40 million people in the U.S. still smoke, and we all know the consequence of that. A fair share of drivers and passengers don’t use seat belts while wearing a seat belt reduces death by up to 45%.
The bottom line, according to Jeff, is that in spite of the development of the human brain and intellectual function, we’re pretty bad at calculating real-world risks.
Jeff is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Tucson practicing for over 20 years. He has a BA and MC (Master of Counseling) degrees and previously spent 25 years as an advertising agency art director in Seattle. He specializes in helping clients learn simple, fun and effective ways to overcome fear and anxiety. He has a wildly popular blog THEFEARMONSTERSLAYER.com and a website Focusonsolutions.org.
Tune in as we discuss:
- How fear played a role in his big leap from advertising to counseling.
- His treatment model of Solution-focused Therapy.
- Why he feels fear and anxiety are the most common reasons people come to therapy.
- What the “What If Monster” is.
- What the media’s role is in creating our fears.
- The significance of habits, and
- Whether or not fear is overrated!
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To listen on iTunes, click here.
Thank you Jeff for being on the show!
