The Many Faces Of Fear

Fear is an unpleasant emotion generated by the threat of danger, pain or harm. It’s an inhibitor, a restriction and a protection.

Fear is what often fills the gap between event and reaction. It gives us the time to weigh up a situation, to use judgement and common sense. It can be the buffer between success and calamity.

The great value of fear is that it can prevent us making mistakes. The great handicap of fear is that it can prevent us making decisions.

Fear and anxiety are intertwined and anxiety is at the core of much of the mental instability and fragility that we face.

Avoidance is not the answer. Any attempt to hide from fear is more likely to exacerbate its symptoms. We can run but we are unable to hide because the fear lives in our heads.

Fear needs to be confronted.

One of the most common fears is the fear of failure. The conundrum there is that it’s through failure that we learn our greatest lessons. It’s through failure that we are able to tap into and develop our greatest strengths. There is more to be learned through failure than there is through success.

The best version of ourselves is built on a foundation of trial and error and the lessons learned along the way. The way we think changes. The danger is that the way we fear can remain constant.

It’s important to see fear as something that needs to be controlled rather than as something that is all controlling. To refuse to acknowledge it as part of our psychological core is every bit as damaging as allowing it to dominate.

Fear has its place and it has its value. But it should always be questioned when it prevents an individual living a fulfilling and satisfying life.