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I am someone who believes that it is never too late to transform. I think you absolutely are able to instruct a veteran learner, on the condition that the old dog is receptive and willing to learn. As long as the old dog is ready to confess when it was in error, and work to become a improved version.

Alright, I confess, I am the old dog. And the trick I am working to acquire, despite the fact that I am decrepit? It is an major undertaking, an issue I have struggled with, repeatedly, for my whole existence. I have been trying … to grow less fearful of huntsman spiders. Apologies to all the remaining arachnid species that exist; I have to be grounded about my capacity for development as a human. The focus must remain on the huntsman because it is sizeable, dominant, and the one I encounter most often. Encompassing three times in the recent past. In my own living space. You can’t see me, but I’m shaking my head at the very thought as I type.

I doubt I’ll ever reach “fan” status, but my project has been at least achieving Normal about them.

I have been terrified of spiders dating back to my youth (as opposed to other children who are fascinated by them). During my childhood, I had ample brothers around to make sure I never had to handle any directly, but I still became hysterical if one was visibly in the general area as me. I have a strong memory of one morning when I was eight, my family still asleep, and attempting to manage a spider that had made its way onto the family room partition. I “managed” with it by standing incredibly far away, almost into the next room (in case it ran after me), and spraying half a bottle of pesticide toward it. The chemical cloud missed the spider, but it did reach and irritate everyone in my house.

As I got older, my romantic partner at the time or sharing a home with was, as a matter of course, the least afraid of spiders in our pairing, and therefore responsible for managing the intruder, while I made whimpers of distress and beat a hasty retreat. If I was on my own, my tactic was simply to exit the space, douse the illumination and try to forget about its existence before I had to enter again.

Recently, I visited a friend’s house where there was a very large huntsman who resided within the casement, mostly just hanging out. To be more comfortable with its presence, I envisioned the spider as a 'girlie', a girlie, in our circle, just relaxing in the sun and eavesdropping on us gab. Admittedly, it appears quite foolish, but it was effective (somewhat). Alternatively, the deliberate resolution to become more fearless did the trick.

Whatever the case, I've made an effort to continue. I think about all the sensible justifications not to be scared. I know huntsman spiders won’t harm me. I recognize they eat things like buzzing nuisances (my mortal enemies). It is well-established they are one of the planet's marvelous, benign creatures.

Unfortunately, however, they do continue to walk like that. They travel in the deeply alarming and somehow offensive way conceivable. The sight of their multiple limbs propelling them at that frightening pace induces my primordial instincts to enter panic mode. They are said to only have the typical arachnid arrangement, but I believe that increases exponentially when they are in motion.

However it is no fault of their own that they have scary legs, and they have an equal entitlement to be where I am – perhaps even more so. My experience has shown that implementing the strategy of working to prevent have a visceral panic reaction and run away when I see one, working to keep calm and collected, and deliberately thinking about their good points, has proven somewhat effective.

Simply due to the reality that they are fuzzy entities that scuttle about with startling speed in a way that invades my dreams, doesn’t mean they deserve my hatred, or my high-pitched vocalizations. I can admit when fear has clouded my judgment and fueled by irrational anxiety. I’m not sure I’ll ever make it to the “scooping one into plasticware and taking it outside” stage, but one can't be sure. A bit of time remains for this seasoned learner yet.