What camel spiders taught me about fear

Have you ever seen a camel spider? Trust me, you would know if you did.

The thing about camel spiders is that they look really scary. They like to hide in dark places, they’re really large and they have these giant jaws with teeth. Seriously.

But here’s the thing. They’re not poisonous and they’re really scared of light and humans. Entomologist Christy Bills says, “In captivity, they are quite the divas and require princess-like accommodations to be kept alive.”

When I think back to my military days spent in the desert, all I can remember is how scared I was when I saw one. I’d lift up a sandbag and uncover a camel spider in hiding - and of course it would inevitably come running toward me. Yep, big spider with giant teeth running at me.

Funny enough, the camel spiders were only running toward me in an attempt to hide from the light by moving into my shadow. So over time I learned that if I actually walked towards them, they’d run the other way.

But even though I knew if I charged the spider it would move away, I couldn’t help but be ruled by fear of the risk. And that’s a common theme that most of us are guilty of: fear of risk. Fear of making a mistake, fear that we’re not doing enough or fear that our idea seems too crazy.

In this age of marketing when consumers have gotten really good at ignoring your ads, when everyone is his or her own photographer/videographer, when media is getting more fragmented and the sheer number of platforms and tools keeps rising - that’s when the fear of risk is detrimental to today’s marketer.

What we have to do is face our camel spider. We have to step forward and do the thing that for the first minute scares us. And then the second time, the third time and every time thereafter, it starts to become habit. That’s when we find success…when our power to explore new approaches and face risks becomes a game-changer.

So my lesson? #facethecamelspider