Fear is the most primal of our emotions. It protected early humanity from physical dangers like being eaten alive by wild animals or falling off a cliff. Although few of us need to worry about being the main course for any animal in the modern world, falling off an emotional cliff remains a real possibility.
Think about your fears for a moment.
Are you afraid to act on that spark you just felt with another because you don’t want to be rejected, or deal with the mess it would cause in your life? Are you afraid to start a business because you think you’ll lose everything and be forced to rebuild your life? Are you afraid to show your art to others because you believe they will believe you lack talent?
Emotion drives these fears. The risk of heartbreak, the shame of business failure, or the rejection of creative works so often prevent us from achieving the successes we desire in life. Emotional fear, like physical fear, paralyzes us and prevents us from stepping into the unknown.
The unknown is where we’ll find love, our passion, and our purpose in life. We must be willing to take the first step, even if it means we may feel emotional pain. Otherwise, we’ll never build the life we want.
Go. Take the first step. You could get hurt, but it’s unlikely you’ll be eaten alive by a pack of wild animals. And if death is improbable, fear is a useless emotion, don’t you think?
2 thoughts on “Fear is useless”
Good post, David. Timely for me. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Jim. I wrote it at time when I was struggling with “what’s next” in my own life. Liminal spaces often bring clarity if we’re listening. 😉