Fear

It has been a while since my last post. Heading into the new year I feel compelled to speak about fear. A lot is going on in the world right now; there are school shootings, irregular weather patterns, on going war, untimely deaths, end of the world predictions...etc  All of these things has caused a heightened sense of fear on a national and global level. I want to break down the word "fear" itself and present you with a few theories and answer questions such as: What is it? Who has it and why? What we can do to overcome it? 

What is Fear?

If you ask that question to a million different people you'd get two million different answers! We all have our own definition of fear or definition(s). Here a are few:

According to the dictionary: Fear is the feeling or condition of being afraid. 

If you google what is fear it says: An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.

Some people describe fear in an acronym as False.Evidence.Apperaring.Real. I think that's unique but overly recited. Tired of hearing it.

To me, fear is a premeditated response to an event yet to occur.

It is my belief that fear can be a response to the present as well as a premeditated response to the future. Oftentimes they exist simultaneously.

Who Has It & Why?
One thing that's indisputable is that we all have a trace of it somewhere. Everyone that has come before us has experienced it and everyone that may come after us will experience it as well. I make that prediction based off of social heredity. Fear is something that's learned and passed down through the generations. It varies from person to person, family to family, culture to culture. As we come in contact with other's and they share their fears, it presents an opportunity for us to adopt theirs as well. The same can be said about other emotions. Case and point: Have you ever felt more positive because someone around you radiated that emotion? I'm going to assume yes. 

It's very difficult to say why we have it but the definition from Google used the phrase "caused by the belief". Belief is a powerful word. It can dictate everything we do and don't do in life. It shapes how we perceive our experiences, ourselves, other people...just about everything. Most things that challenge our beliefs we tend to readily reject in order to protect us from an unexplored alternative. What if I told you right now that these letters are blue? You'd be naturally inclined to disagree! Your brain goes into auto defense because you've been lead to believe those letters were in fact purple.

See, you did it again. lol. So what's the point? My point, is that the belief system influences our social cognition, fear falls under that cognitive umbrella, and that which is cognitive can be changed.

How Can We Overcome Fear?
That question would assume that fear is something we need to overcome. I guess it depends on what you believe about fear. We as humans have a natural urge to categorize things as good or bad, useful for or not useful, acceptable or unacceptable etc...   

I don't define it as good or bad, it all depends on what purpose it serves in your life. I have no use for it in my life so when it rears its head, I start using mine. There is a difference between having fear and living in it. That's not to say I'm fearless, I'm simply saying that there are wider range of emotions to choose from that better serve me. For some, it is a great motivator and serves them well. For others it can be a roadblock that prevents them from advancing to the next level in their life, their health, finances, relationships, or mental peace. I don't know if fear is something that you can overcome entirely.

What I will say is that knowledge and understanding replaces fear. The more we know and understand about something the less we have to fear it. That constant pursuit for understanding can be applied to just about anything: people, places, cultures, races, religion, opportunities, and ideas...just to name a few. As we begin to grow, we can make a conscious choice on how we will respond to certain events in our lives and what emotions we can choose from that will best serve us in that moment.

As a new year approaches, I humbly ask that you reflect on some of your biggest fears and evaluate if they help you or serve you.Work diligently to overcome daily fears and challenges to push forward towards your own personal happiness. I'll close with a passage from one of my favorite books: "Wisdom is the principle thing, therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding."

I'd love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave a comment or question below. You're more than welcome to reach out and connect with me on other networks as well. If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it.

I hope you have a prosperous new year.

Keep Growing, Keep Going.

-Branden Wellington