EP20: Fear Factors: Franklin D. Roosevelt Had It Right

0:00So first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Okay, so it's another Shop Soup Podcast here. I'm Greg, and thanks for joining us here today. Today I just wanted to lead off with that little bit about Franklin Roosevelt talking about fear, you know. There's nothing to fear but fear itself. Very important at a time when the country was really worried about what was going to happen next.

0:34And I relate that to my frequent visits at the YMCA here in Rehoboth. You know that through further posts and stuff, I really enjoy the community. And the reason why is because there's a lot of people who are my age, mid-60s, and of course, you're into the 90s. But most importantly, there's a few things that go in there. Being young, younger than some and older than others, of course.

1:06But the main topic is usually either health or what's going on with my health, or I have this going on with my health. And the conversations lead to, hey, I'm here to get healthy, or hey, I'm battling this, I'm battling that. And there's ailments all over. And we talk about all of this stuff. And it's a relief in a sense. But what leads up to that is the fear.

1:27It's the fear that, you know, of the unknown, of what's happening with, with any ailment that I might have. And you go there and not only is it a physical improvement that you're looking for, but it's that mental relief, like, oh, okay, they've been there, done that, I'll be okay, that kind of thing. And that's where a fear comes into the fear of of what's going to happen next.

1:53So, there's good reasons why you get attracted to that because there's other people around you. There's people that can help you overcome these fears. And so, the meeting places that go on, there's a few areas. Of course, the locker rooms where, you know, the chatter, the drama, the rumors, and all that, you know, the locker room talk, right? Among strangers or friends, it doesn't matter.

2:19And then there's the pool. The pool is where a lot of people will do classes and there it's communal and you're in there in big groups, you know. And then there is the dry sauna where, believe it or not, a lot of your really detailed stories emanate from. And I can tell you that there are some doozies, and especially when you walk into a room full of women and they start laying out.

2:48And as I said before, when you're older, there's no inhibition, right? I mean, it's going to come out. There's honesty all over the place. But a couple of times, like the other day, we had, you know, we're in there and there's maybe 5 or 6 of us. And again, it's a diverse group of people. It's a diverse community. So the story of this one woman who is in there, and she was you know, a fairly large woman, an older woman.

3:22I'd have to say maybe, maybe mid-70s. But she was talking about how wonderful it is that she can swim now. She's learning to swim. And by no means is she even like— I don't even think she's doggy paddling at the moment. She's really just trying to stay like floating, keep, keep above the water, uh, and manage that sensation you have of you, you know, of control, because when you're in the water, you really don't feel like you have control.

3:50You've got to create control. You've got to keep yourself up above the water. So you're kind of— you can get nervous and stressed. And that's what she was discussing and alluding to, is that she's overcoming that fear of the unknown. And it was interesting to hear her say how she's doing that. Well, she has a set of earbuds that she has, and she listens to the Bible, a version of the Bible, or her prayer book.

4:18Or whatever it is, it's audio, but it's pretty much, you know, um, that's an inspiration that she listens to, uh, while she is trying to maintain her presence in the water and learn at the same time. But the biggest inspiration and reasons why she's doing it, as she explains, is for her kids and grandkids and how she wants to be able to be more a part of their life than what she has been.

4:49You know, that separation and fear is keeping her from enjoying life as she wants to. And her grandkids were asking her, well, you know, Nana, when can you get in the pool? Nana, let's get in. And she wouldn't. She couldn't. The fear was stopping her. Well, now she took the time and she took the initiative to overcome all of that. And she's in the process of learning how to swim, even if it's just a hold herself up on the water, that she can play with her grandkids.

5:21And she's learning to float. She's learning to use her legs. She's learning to swim. Now imagine a 72-year-old woman, and honestly, I'm being fair, you know, that she's large, a large woman. She's trying to get into the pool, get into the pool and actually start to swim, just as if you would teach a child how to properly swim. Babies seem to have it, you know, instinctively where they can float and keep themselves going for a certain period of time.

5:52And you've seen all the videos on how they teach, you know, how to swim. But, you know, when you're older, things get a little bit more complicated because we overthink the situation. Well, you know, going back to everything and how that actually relates to not only the fear we have of accomplishing something. It's the what if. What if this happens? What if that happens?

6:17What if I have to reprimand an employee and they quit? Where am I? You know, am I out? That has affected me tremendously. It's like, you know, I hold on to somebody longer than I should only because I don't know what's going to happen next or I won't have anybody. And then, I got to get in there and do it myself. Which I may be capable of or not capable of, but it has ruined everything.

6:41Do I, do I take that chance? Does fear stop me? And it does for a lot of other responsibilities, too. So I'm not immune to experiencing what that fear is. So and it sucks because afterwards you go, man, I should have done that a long time ago. Right? And then you look at, well, I'm in a room full of people What do my customers feel when I fear— when they fear coming in on a check engine light, right?

7:09It can be— it's a difference. So how do we move beyond the fear? How do we get them to move beyond the fear of car repair, right? And what are the steps that we take? So these are all little things that seem to happen, and I just, you know, pick up on a few things and get them to— well, let's put it this way.

7:33I help them get over their fear and I make sure that they're in a community that is helpful. Right. I want to be that person that the stress goes away, the fear goes away. Just like when I walk into the Y down here, that I'm in a pool or I'm in a community of people that let me know that whatever I'm feeling or, you know, um, yeah, whatever is going on with my health is going to be okay, you know.

8:09And the— it's calming. It's a calming situation. So I would say to you that there is nothing to fear but fear itself, as President Roosevelt mentioned at the top of this show. So anyway, some thoughts of the day. It's another podcast or another episode for the ShopSoup Podcast. I appreciate the support, really do. Hopefully that the content is good. We're just getting our feet wet.

8:37And if you'd like to subscribe, I certainly help— that certainly helps things. You can see it on YouTube, you can see it on Facebook, you can see it Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, all of those places. And I certainly want to say thank you very much. We'll see you next time. Remember, Nothing to fear but fear itself, right?