Living Our Lives in Fear - "We must do that which we think we cannot"

In a changing world, fear becomes rampant. Fear of change, fear of the unknown and fear of things that are different. These things take us outside of our comfort zone and it is human nature to avoid these changes as to avoid any risk of harm coming from them, whether that risk is realistic or not. But unless that fear is overcome, nothing ever changes and society and humanity as whole stands still in its evolutionary development. Thus, it takes the brave to overcome that fear and help drive humanity forward.

          Furthermore, fear of those differences leads to intolerance of those different from ourselves. This fear is simply natural. How will those differences affect a given situation and how will their differences affect me? These are legitimate questions; fear of the unknown has helped humanity survive. Therefore, why should we change that now? But better than avoiding these differences out of fear, we should be adapting to those differences though understanding, thus removing the unknown element and alleviating the need for fear.

          Another element of this fear is that fear of changing ourselves or living our lives in a way that makes us different from our peers. This is due to the fear those peers may have of your differences which may result in your rejection. This often results in people playing a character or persona that is unfaithful to the person they really are and often leads to regret and unhappiness. It is up to these people to be courageous enough in themselves to risk that rejection, have willingness to be different from those around you and to help facilitate the understanding of those differences by others.

          Now it's easy to say all of this but how do we actually do it? Will it be quick and easy, no, it rarely is. They say that knowledge is power, so learn and get to understand and become accustomed to your differences yourself before exposing those differences to anyone else. Secondly, be adaptable, don't plan how things are going to go, nine times out of ten, this won't happen exactly how you expect. This is where knowing and understanding your differences will help as it will allow you better handle any situation that may present itself. And thirdly, expose yourself to your fears in small steps. This allows you to become more accustomed to overcoming your fears, at least in a small way. It also makes you better aware of what to expect and thus improve the way in which we cope with those situations. A final point is to picture the worst that could happen and embrace it and then picture how you will handle such a situation. Generally, it is the fear that gives these situations their power. So if we alleviate these fears and learn to relax, we take away that power and by doing so, we'll find coping with the situation alot easier.

          In conclusion, what we fear is the unknown. Thus, learning to understand our differences will reduce our fears and will allow us to better embrace the changes that occur in the world around us. We should also learn to expose ourselves to our fears on a regular basis. By doing this, you end up feeling better about yourself for having accomplished something and it also helps reduce your fears in the process. This will improve your self-esteem and will give you the confidence to overcome even bigger fears until your fears are few and far between.

          I will end with this quote;

"We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot."

Eleanor Roosevelt

Jason Cates