You’ve been proving to yourself all along if you look closer.
A trauma turned upside down
Suppose you were bitten by a dog when you were little. Ever since you have this trauma over barking dogs. One day, in the recycle bins, you found a newborn puppy who could barely open its eyes. You couldn’t let it die, so you brought it home and feed it milk. You thought it is quite cute, actually. It started to walk and play within a month, but you are very anxious, so you kept it in a cage most of the time. When you play with it, you always have your gloves on, just to be extra safe. Time passed by fast, and it has fully grown. By this time, you develop enough mutual trust to let it out. You now live together in the same space that nourishes countless delightful moments. When it barks, you know exactly that it is excited, anxious, or asking for food. You don’t even remember the person who was scared of dogs anymore.
A true story, by the way. My mom used to believe that dogs are dangerous, and they bite, for as long as she could remember. My sister begged to have and finally did brought a Corgi home. Two years in, my mom now enjoys the company of our dog, Wisley, and said she’s amazed how calm and cute dogs actually are.
Make better perspectives out of experiences
Stories of the same spirit happen every day. When we are afraid, the fear often roots in an experience in the past that shouts, “Dangerous, run!” It is a protective mechanism that can be helpful at times. However, our experience does not represent the entirety of the universe. It is very much biased. As time went on, we are equipped with new experiences that can impact our outlook.
If we look at what you’re doing right now. You are reading this article, which qualifies as a new experience. Whether you extract a new perspective from the story of the dog trauma is your decision. So, if you say, “Yes, perhaps people can change with new experiences and perspectives,” Then indeed, you have changed.
We, as human beings, were never constant. Everything we experience provides new perspectives if we allow it to.
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