“I was waiting for one word. It never came.” At Starmus VIII, one of the world’s biggest science festivals, brilliant people talked about exploration, creativity and courage. Nobody mentioned safety. So here is the question nobody asked on stage: Do we need fear to do brilliant work? In the first episode of A Safe Place to Return, we look at why fear and brilliance are not enemies, what actually allows people to explore, and what a stable orbit, Apollo 13 and a four-year-old Jane Goodall hiding in a henhouse can teach us about relationships. I’m a psychologist, not an astrophysicist. The universe is my curiosity. Psychology is my work. In this episode you’ll learn: why fear isn’t the problem, but fear with nothing holding it is what research says about stress, safety and creativity why a stable orbit is a balance between moving away and being pulled home what Jane Goodall’s mother did after four hours of fear, and why it kept her daughter curious how Apollo 13 made it back, and why the boldest missions are planned with a way back what a secure base looks like between two people, and the three things that make it work two small things you can try this week Where is your safe place to return? Tell me on Instagram @safeplacetoreturn. New episode every month. Chapters:0:00 Intro: the question nobody asked0:47 Welcome to A Safe Place to Return1:23 Orbit: always falling, never crashing3:55 Apollo 13: silence behind the Moon5:00 Jane Goodall in the henhouse6:18 What fear does inside us8:04 What research says about fear and creativity9:05 The secure base in relationships9:30 Catherine: when pressure stops working10:36 What Jane’s mother did11:43 Apollo 13 and the way back home13:39 The question I would ask instead14:18 My own search for truth16:19 Why the return matters17:21 So, do we need fear?17:47 What you can try this week18:13 Outro Research mentioned:Byron, K., Khazanchi, S., & Nazarian, D. (2010). The relationship between stressors and creativity: A meta-analysis examining competing theoretical models. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(1), 201–212.Mikulincer, M., Shaver, P. R., & Rom, E. (2011). The effects of implicit and explicit security priming on creative problem solving. Cognition and Emotion, 25(3), 519–531.Feeney, B. C., & Thrush, R. L. (2010). Relationship influences on exploration in adulthood: The characteristics and function of a secure base. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(1), 57–76. © Dr. Ivana Čergeťová | A Safe Place to Return. All rights reserved. Copying, distributing or reproducing this content without the author’s written consent is prohibited. radipsychologička® is a registered trademark.