3 ms·

i’ve come to believe that we’re more terrified of a situation while we’re not in it. once in there, and especially when there’s no way out, our bodies make the

i’ve come to believe that we’re more terrified of a situation while we’re not in it. once in there, and especially when there’s no way out, our bodies make the necessary adjustments for the new normal. and soon our minds/being follow. it’s often characterized as extraordinary strength by onlookers when in fact the person going through the experience had no way out. in my mother tongue, we have a proverb which roughly translates to ‘bravery is situational.’ therefore there are no cowards, just people without the necessary conditions to demonstrate bravery. if you’re lucky, you find it.

JohnMakin 2y ago
putting this in this context was helpful, thank you. I have a few chronic medical conditions that when people learn about it sometimes remark “i dont know how you deal with that” and the answer really is a shrug and “there’s no choice.” humans are good at adapting for sure
- yawboakye 2y ago
  wishing you much strength! even though there may be no way out, your composure remains a valid demonstration of fortitude, imho. god be with you!
lupire 2y ago
In my mother tongue we have an expression: "I'm not a coward; I've just never been tested. I'd like to think that if I was I would pass."
- cromulent 2y ago
  That’s a lyric from “The Impression That I Get”, a hit for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. I guess they got it from your mother tongue.
crngefest 2y ago
IMHO it’s because in our imagination anything is possible, we can imagine the bad situation in more and more elaborate and complicated scenarios. And we can’t see beyond the bad situation. While once we are in the situation we can do very practical things and have agency to react to and improve our situation. I once read a French „practical philosopher“ who expressed it much better than me, but yea essentially the most terrifying situations are in our imagination.

JohnMakin 2y ago

putting this in this context was helpful, thank you. I have a few chronic medical conditions that when people learn about it sometimes remark “i dont know how you deal with that” and the answer really is a shrug and “there’s no choice.” humans are good at adapting for sure

yawboakye 2y ago
wishing you much strength! even though there may be no way out, your composure remains a valid demonstration of fortitude, imho. god be with you!

lupire 2y ago

In my mother tongue we have an expression: "I'm not a coward; I've just never been tested. I'd like to think that if I was I would pass."

cromulent 2y ago
That’s a lyric from “The Impression That I Get”, a hit for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. I guess they got it from your mother tongue.

crngefest 2y ago

IMHO it’s because in our imagination anything is possible, we can imagine the bad situation in more and more elaborate and complicated scenarios. And we can’t see beyond the bad situation. While once we are in the situation we can do very practical things and have agency to react to and improve our situation. I once read a French „practical philosopher“ who expressed it much better than me, but yea essentially the most terrifying situations are in our imagination.