abstract concepts: my definitions of courage and fear

[belenen]

icon: "writing (a relief carving of Seshat, overlaid with my fractal "Colorflight")"

courage:
willingness to deliberately step out of one's own comfort zone.

fear:
the memory of pain (from one's own experience or shared memory) sparking the desire to avoid something.

Comments

[kehlen]

I agree with the first, but I don't think fear of doing something new because of such-and-such possible consequences that may or may not even realize quite fits this definition?

[belenen]

sorry, could you re-phrase? I don't understand what you mean.

[kehlen]

I will try.

If fear is the memory of pain, what pain do we avoid when faced with a situation in which we have never been before?

For example, I have never owned a business, or lost a lot of money. But I fear creating a business, because I think I don't have a commercial streak, and may loose my investment instead of making profit.

[belenen]

Oh, I think it is similar experiences which caused pain that cause the fear in that case. With your example, I would think any venture at which you had experienced failure, or any experience of being without money, would cause fear in this instance. I think the only way that starting a new business would cause no fear is if the person starting it had never experienced being without enough money, and had also never experienced negative consequences due to their choices. They'd pretty much have to have been financially comfortable all their life, and been rescued from every mistake they'd ever made.

[kehlen]

Ah. Yes, I agree. I read you definition too literally.

You are also right about money in this case, I have owned a significant sum to my family for a long while, and even though they did not ask I pay for the loan, giving it back was a long and yes, painful process. Thank you, I have not made that connection before, and will try to analyze some of my other fears from this this point of view.