Fear
Fear is a powerful motivator. People do all sorts of things because they are afraid. All sorts of silly things happen out of fear: discrimination and war are two of the worst on a global scale, but fear has a different effect on a smaller scale.
In certain areas of my life, fear can be paralyzing. We all have things that we are afraid of, and we all have different ways of handling that fear. Some people are deathly afraid of failure, so they never try. Others are afraid of success, so when they try, they sabotage their own efforts, and end up failing.
Some people use religion to calm their fears. One of the greatest (almost) universal fears is that life is pointless. For many, religion calms that fear: if there is a greater purpose to it all, then it really isn't pointless. I'm quite religious, but not in the conventional sense. I am not hugely into the ceremonial aspects of religion. I understand the purpose, but, to me, the way I live my life is more important then ceremony.
One of the things that I have learned from religion is to always try to do the right thing. Usually, the right thing is not the easiest thing, and that is usually scary. Sometimes, in trying to do the right thing, you can end up getting hurt. If you try to save someone's life when they are in trouble, it could very well mean that you get injured or killed. It's the right thing to do, though.
Throughout my younger years, I was so paralyzed by the fear of what people thought of me that I never really let them get to know me. To an extent, I still live with that fear: no one likes to be judged by others. However, the thing that helps me get through the fear is this: "What's the worst that can happen?" If I try, maybe I'll succeed. If so, great! I also might fail. That's not great, but at least I'll learn something. If I do learn something, then I have succeeded. Maybe it's not as fulfilling as immediate success, but it could very well be more fulfilling.
So many things in life are achieved through awful failures. I wish that there was an easier way, but I don't believe that there is. I set high goals for myself, and in achieving them, I will certainly fail many times along the way. I keep a few quotes in mind along the way.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." -- Winston Churchill
"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." -- Thomas A. Edison
"Eighty percent of success is showing up." -- Woody Allen
Have a great day. I hope your failures make your successes that much sweeter. I hope that we can all overcome our fears together.
In certain areas of my life, fear can be paralyzing. We all have things that we are afraid of, and we all have different ways of handling that fear. Some people are deathly afraid of failure, so they never try. Others are afraid of success, so when they try, they sabotage their own efforts, and end up failing.
Some people use religion to calm their fears. One of the greatest (almost) universal fears is that life is pointless. For many, religion calms that fear: if there is a greater purpose to it all, then it really isn't pointless. I'm quite religious, but not in the conventional sense. I am not hugely into the ceremonial aspects of religion. I understand the purpose, but, to me, the way I live my life is more important then ceremony.
One of the things that I have learned from religion is to always try to do the right thing. Usually, the right thing is not the easiest thing, and that is usually scary. Sometimes, in trying to do the right thing, you can end up getting hurt. If you try to save someone's life when they are in trouble, it could very well mean that you get injured or killed. It's the right thing to do, though.
Throughout my younger years, I was so paralyzed by the fear of what people thought of me that I never really let them get to know me. To an extent, I still live with that fear: no one likes to be judged by others. However, the thing that helps me get through the fear is this: "What's the worst that can happen?" If I try, maybe I'll succeed. If so, great! I also might fail. That's not great, but at least I'll learn something. If I do learn something, then I have succeeded. Maybe it's not as fulfilling as immediate success, but it could very well be more fulfilling.
So many things in life are achieved through awful failures. I wish that there was an easier way, but I don't believe that there is. I set high goals for myself, and in achieving them, I will certainly fail many times along the way. I keep a few quotes in mind along the way.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." -- Winston Churchill
"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." -- Thomas A. Edison
"Eighty percent of success is showing up." -- Woody Allen
Have a great day. I hope your failures make your successes that much sweeter. I hope that we can all overcome our fears together.