To complete the adventures and survive what Bear Grylls has it takes plenty of courage. It also means there are many moments of fear.
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Grylls starred in Man vs. Wild from 2006-11, multiple season of Worst Case Scenario, The Island with Bear Grylls, and Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls. He was also part of Mission Survive from 2015-2019. Grylls added to his resume with Hostile Planet in 2019 and World’s Toughest Race in 2020. All the while he alternated You vs. Wild in 2019 and 2021 with Into the Wild in 2020 and Running Wild in 2022.
“Fear is a huge part of my life, it’s part of my job,” he told NPR. “Fear isn’t an enemy. It’s something that nature gives you to allow you to stay sharp and perform well and to have all your senses firing.”
The 48-year-old is also a father of three, and a husband. He needs to make sure he is aware at all times to come home alive.
Grylls explained that like having a specific routine, or eating habit, you can train your body for fear.
“When you’re thrown into a scary situation, that fear muscle isn’t strong; so you get kind of an overload of adrenaline,” he continued with NPR. “And an overload of adrenaline is always going to create a kind of a fog of war.”
Keeping his fear muscle strong includes plenty of daily exercise, combined with dietary regimes. He continues to keep his mental strength worked out as well.
During the recent promotion of his new book, Mind Fuel: Simple Ways to Build Mental Resilience Each Day, Grylls added that his bad days are not too dissimilar from that of others. And that remaining positive while removing that fog of war can help win many battles in life.
“People expect me to always be tough, but I’m only human,” he said. “I have difficult days and I’ve been through some really dark times. I’m still a work in progress, but I’ll never give up.”
