I was sh*tting myself

Key Concepts

• Self-Consciousness: The feeling of awareness of oneself and one’s actions, particularly as perceived by others.
• Familiarity & Fear: The relationship between repeated experience and the reduction of anxiety or fear.
• The Illusion of Uniqueness: The tendency to believe one’s experiences are more novel or significant than they are.
• Habituation: The process of becoming accustomed to a stimulus, leading to a decreased response.

The Diminishment of Self-Consciousness Through Repetition

The core argument presented revolves around the idea that self-consciousness, often experienced as fear or anxiety, is largely a product of unfamiliarity. The speaker posits that the feeling of “being oneself” is actually most pronounced during initial experiences. This initial state is characterized by heightened awareness of one’s actions and perceived judgment from others.

The speaker directly addresses the listener, using inclusive language ("we all ourselves, mate," "You yourself") to emphasize the universality of this experience. The phrasing "Do it a thousand times. You'll no longer yourself" highlights the central thesis: repeated exposure to a situation diminishes the intensity of self-consciousness. The implication is that the feeling of being acutely “oneself” is a temporary state, fading with practice and habituation.

The Window Cleaner Anecdote: A Real-World Illustration

To illustrate this point, the speaker recounts a conversation with window cleaners working on tall buildings. These individuals, having performed their job for “five, six years,” no longer experience the same level of anxiety or self-awareness that a novice would. Their response – “I call this a Tuesday” – is crucial. It demonstrates a complete normalization of a potentially frightening situation (working at height).

This anecdote serves as a case study demonstrating the power of repetition to transform a novel and potentially fear-inducing experience into a routine, mundane task. The window cleaners’ perspective underscores that what feels extraordinary to someone experiencing it for the first time is, for them, simply part of their regular work.

Familiarity vs. Fear: A Misattribution

The speaker explicitly states that “a lot of the times we mistaken a lack of familiarity for this crazy fear that we feel.” This is a key insight. The feeling of fear isn’t inherent to the activity itself, but rather to the newness of the activity. The speaker suggests that we often misinterpret this discomfort as a sign of something inherently dangerous or challenging, when in reality it’s simply a signal that we haven’t yet become accustomed to the situation.

Habituation and the Reduction of Anxiety

The underlying mechanism at play is habituation – a psychological process where the brain reduces its response to a stimulus after repeated exposure. While not explicitly named, the window cleaner example perfectly embodies this concept. Their brains have adapted to the height and the task, reducing the associated anxiety.

Synthesis: Embracing Repetition

The central takeaway is that overcoming self-consciousness and fear often involves simply doing something repeatedly. The initial discomfort is a natural response to unfamiliarity, and with continued practice, that discomfort will lessen. The speaker’s message is implicitly encouraging: embrace repetition, as it is through repeated experience that we move beyond the limitations of self-consciousness and achieve a state of effortless competence.