If that were such an easy question to answer… I like to think that I look in the face of danger, laughingly. Maybe it is the case. But there is a lot of wishful thinking involved. I don’t know if I could stare down a person attacking me with a knife, take a blow and strike back instead of cowering in a corner, begging for mercy. Yes, it is an extreme scenario. But that would just be beyond what I have so far experienced. I remember chickening out before fights at one point, and going in wholeheartedly only months later, mostly because I didn’t want to be the person who chickened out. Regretting an action, or the omission of an action, is key to changing your behavior in the future. Well, turning regret into change is the key actually, or let’s say, they are both grooves on the same key. Getting over yourself. I am the daredevil that I am now, because became sick of being afraid. Well, I’m still not really a daredevil. But I’ve had my share shit to not fret over biting into the sandwich. You can’t develop courage if you don’t know fear, because fear is always there, somewhere, deep down. So, if I am threatened with a knife, or something else I haven’t faced before, maybe I’ll take to the hills for the first time, maybe not. But if anything else than my own property and life are at stake, I hope I can face it, take the blow and overcome it
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You’d be nice to have around for a coward like me 🙂 I feel like we are strangers now!
An interesting question!
I think I would have answered that I believe there are three options actually: Fight, flight or negotiation.
I am probably guilty of having too often tried to negotiate and discuss anything endlessly – quite successful at times – probably I am able to paralyze my enimies and soften their brains in a subtle process through mind-numbing negotiations.
But I would add, that I should have opted for either flight or fight more often – it is simply less time-consuming and exhausting.
Confrontation? I avoid confrontation as much as possible. I always try to find other solutions that do not involve confrontation, but if I can’t avoid it, then I face it. I don’t think the point here is situations like being attacked with a knife by a mugger. It’s more like confronting someone who has cheated you.
my reasoning also applies to social confrontations or life decisions, but it is more easily described by analyzing violent confrontations