Why are we afraid of little things, and not big things? Wisdom from Amy Poehler

As I was reading Amy Poehler’s book Yes Please, a particular section resonated with me. It reminded me of how children often say the most powerful and insightful things, in the simplest ways.

Archie (Amy Poehler’s son): Mama, you wanna know something funny about me? I’m afraid of little things, and not afraid of big things.

Amy Poehler: I think he was talking about bugs and elephants. But I understood what he meant in a very deep way.

My interpretation of this is that on some level, we are all scared of small things, and not big things.

Being scared of something small is when you hesitate to approach that girl/guy at the bar.

The bigger picture is that even if you get rejected, you probably won’t see them again or remember what they look like the next day.

Being scared of something small is when you don’t know how your customer is going to react when you ask if they need anything right now.

The bigger picture is that even if they say ‘I’m not interested, what they really mean is ‘I’m not interested NOW, but I could be later’. So keep them on your ‘Maybe one-day’ chase list. And in the meantime, there are thousands of other prospects you can call.

Being scared of something small is worrying about your mortality. (Yes, death is insignificant because we can’t control it. It’s certain — for now at least.)

The bigger picture is that maybe you’re not scared of dying per se, maybe you’re scared that you didn’t take a chance on doing what you really wanted. That you were living, but you were never truly alive.

Sweating over small things can feel incredibly overwhelming. Because you’re acting as if the future has already happened when really, you are having an emotional reaction to something that isn’t real.

When we think about our personal and professional progress, we have the expectation that our life experiences translate into a growth chart that is linear and always moving up.

But is this true?

Don’t setbacks and challenges force us to build the most resilience?

And when has self-awareness ever been straightforward?

To quote Eckhart Tolle,

“Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness.”

The way we perceive fear is what gives it weight.

When we zoom in, we build up anxiety and we feel paralysed by small things.

When we zoom out, we see the bigger picture, and we see infinite wisdom in small human beings.

And when we zoom out even further, we see the moon.

We realise that as Amy Poehler says, “We are all different people living under the same big, beautiful moon”.

What have your kids said that has resonated with you in a very deep way? Please comment below, I would love to hear your stories.