{"id":12299,"date":"2026-01-24T20:49:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T00:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/michelle-curran-on-fear-courage-peak-performance\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T20:49:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T00:49:50","slug":"michelle-curran-on-fear-courage-peak-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/michelle-curran-on-fear-courage-peak-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Michelle Curran on Fear, Courage & Peak Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Profit<\/a>
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Given she\u2019s one of a handful of women in history who can fly an F-16, you\u2019d expect Michelle Curran<\/strong> to eat fear for breakfast.<\/p>\n

After all, with a call sign like \u201cMACE\u201d (short for \u201cMach at Circle Entry,\u201d earned after entering a maneuver too fast, breaking the sound barrier, and pulling nine times the force of gravity long enough to nearly lose consciousness), fear \u2260 her.<\/p>\n

Yet, here she is, in her book, The Flipside: How to Invert Your Perspective and Turn Fear into Your Superpower<\/em>, openly admitting to things she\u2019s afraid of: spiders, public failure, being judged by others, and all the things that so many of us are petrified of, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt may seem odd that someone who has forged a career performing aerobatic maneuvers inches from another jet would doubt her own abilities<\/em>,\u201d she points out, \u201cbut it\u2019s true<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

So if you\u2019re thinking, \u201cIf she feels this way, what does that say about me?<\/em>\u201d, then her story is for you.<\/p>\n

Michelle \u201cMACE\u201d Curran wasn\u2019t born brave<\/h2>\n

\u201cYes, definitely not born brave. That is for sure<\/em>,\u201d Michelle tells Kristina M\u04d3nd-Lakhiani<\/a> in her interview on the Mindvalley Book Club.<\/p>\n

Brave, growing up in the way she describes, seemed to be something foreign, like Superman falling into Smallville, Kansas (of all places). Though she isn\u2019t from \u201cThe Sunflower State,\u201d her hometown wasn\u2019t much different from the one Clark Kent was raised in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in a really small town, like a farming area, rural Wisconsin<\/em>,\u201d she shares. \u201cI was a very shy, introverted, awkward kid<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

But being so didn\u2019t stop her from being driven and high-achieving. Her plan was to study criminal justice, complete four years in the Air Force to repay her scholarship, then leave to become an FBI agent.<\/p>\n

Then, halfway through college, she visited a base and watched two fighter jets take off in full afterburner. That moment shifted her whole life trajectory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just awestruck<\/em>,\u201d she recollects. \u201cGoosebumps. Like, I cannot overstate how excited I was about seeing those jets, and I was like, forget the FBI, I have to try to go figure out how to do that<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

But just because she was amped on flying doesn\u2019t automatically flip on the bravery switch for everything else in her life. She says, \u201cI still regularly felt fear and <\/em>self-doubt<\/em><\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not so much from the physical danger that comes with flying at extreme speeds and forces, but \u201caround judgment of others, letting people down, failing publicly, shame, embarrassment\u2026<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, you don\u2019t need to fly at nine Gs like her to know that feeling. Fear can show up forcefully, anytime, anywhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why fear feels so real (even when it isn\u2019t)<\/h2>\n

Fear<\/a> can be irrational. Your heart races, your head spins, your palms are sweaty, your vision blurs, you\u2019re at the tipping point of either projectile vomiting or forcing the bile back down\u2026 Even in situations that pose no actual danger<\/em>, like speaking up in a meeting or meeting someone for a first date.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because fear evolved to protect survival, not reputation. Neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux, one of the world\u2019s leading researchers on fear, has shown that the brain reacts to potential threats, real or imagined, by flooding the body with stress hormones<\/a> before you\u2019ve had a chance to think it through.<\/p>\n

By the time you try to talk yourself down, the reaction is already underway. That\u2019s why fear can feel undeniable even when you know, logically, that you\u2019re safe.<\/p>\n

Social judgment, public failure, and embarrassment can trigger the same biological response as physical danger. And it\u2019s perhaps why, according to the World Health Organization, more than 300 million people worldwide experience fear-based anxiety<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Michelle, included. As she tells Kristina, the struggle stayed with her for years, showing up early in her career and resurfacing again whenever high-stakes opportunities appeared.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s talking about elite selections, leadership roles where mistakes carried weight beyond herself, and high-profile missions under intense scrutiny. That pressure only intensified as she stepped into public-facing roles, speaking on global stages and representing the Air Force as one of the very few female Thunderbird pilots.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took me a lot of time and reflection and intentional work to gain perspective on those moments and learn how to leverage them instead of be afraid of them<\/em>,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

The thing that she learned, though, is that if fear isn\u2019t something you can outthink, then the only leverage left is how you act when it hits.<\/p>\n

Who better to learn how to work with fear than a combat-trained Air Force female fighter pilot? Here are a few tools Michelle shares in her Mindvalley Book Club interview that can help you, too, move forward under pressure.<\/p>\n

Watch her sit down with Kristina for more insights:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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