Fear Into Lessons is the first of four books by Dr. Norman Vincent Peal, a pediatrician who worked in the New York City Public Health Department as part of the Manhattan Project. He served as an adviser to the Manhattan Project's scientific and medical staff in the years before it was completed. Peal later became the head of child psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical Center.
https://s31450.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/shy-student150407.jpg
[Image Source](https://s31450.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/shy-student150407.jpg)
During the Manhattan Project, scientists and engineers were experimenting with new methods for producing nuclear weapons, including the creation of nuclear fission. Fears Into Lessons begins after Peal is invited to a conference with other nuclear scientists to discuss new methods for bomb creation. Peal is fearful about the conference because he is not sure that any of the scientists present will share information about their work with him. In fact, Perl is very afraid and panics on the plane ride back to his office.

After Peal is on the plane home, however, he realizes that he was able to gain important information about nuclear weapons from the conference and in particular from the secretary of the conference. This information led Peal to develop a fear of flying. Instead of being an isolated incident, Peal's fear became the focus of his entire career. As Peal worked through his career and his fears of flying became more intense, he learned that his fears were actually valid. He did find a way to overcome his fear of flying - by undergoing psychological therapy.

Fears Into Lessons takes you through the entire process of overcoming a phobia, which includes: discovering the fear, recognizing the fear's validity, finding the fear's origin, dealing with the fear, getting over the fear and then managing the fear-based situations that lead up to it. It's a wonderful book that helps you figure out what your phobia is and how to overcome it. Peal gives a great deal of helpful advice on the right way to go about this process and in particular how to manage your fears of flying while you are flying. It's a great book to give to a flight attendant or to anyone else in your life that may be experiencing fear of flying. If you need some help overcoming your phobias, I'd recommend Fears Into Lessons.

I particularly like the sections in the book that focus on the role fear plays in our lives. For example, a section describes how fear of flying can prevent us from doing things we really enjoy, like going on family vacation trips. or going to an exotic destination.

Part of the problem with phobias, and fear in general, is that they're usually experienced in a vacuum. Because people don't often speak about them with others, we don't realize the real extent of our fears until we're faced with them in a situation.

I also liked the information about how fear is often our unconscious reaction to a threat. So many times we go about life thinking that there is no threat, only to be confronted by one that becomes overwhelming. Peal provides some examples to illustrate this point, including the fear of driving down the highway in the winter, because if it were to snow, we would never get back on the road.

I also liked the advice to practice your fear before attempting to conquer it. Peal stresses that it's much easier to conquer a fear when you have a concrete understanding of the situation that gave rise to the fear. I believe this advice applies in this case too.

The final thing that I liked about this book was the section on getting past your phobia. Fears, like all things in life, need to be fought and overcome before they fully become ingrained. This is another part of the book that I particularly enjoyed. Peal teaches you how to put yourself in a state of constant fear, so that it becomes less noticeable when it's around you. I think that having the fear of flying is something that everyone experiences, so I know it can be a real challenge to overcome.

Overall, I like Fears Into Lessons. It is a good guide to overcoming your phobia, especially if you suffer from it. It helps you find the fear in the moment and work through it, then figure out how to overcome it and not be afraid of flying in the future.
https://behaviourhackers.files.wordpress.com/2019/08/leio-mclaren-leiomclaren-ngwhwpzlgnu-unsplash-e1581089540598.jpg
[Image Source](https://behaviourhackers.files.wordpress.com/2019/08/leio-mclaren-leiomclaren-ngwhwpzlgnu-unsplash-e1581089540598.jpg)
I wish I had known about this book sooner, since it would have been an invaluable resource in my preparation for my flight attendant training. I've been thinking about getting a ticket ever since. Now I do.