- Fear means failure is a possibility.
Imagine you are a student, it’s twelve o’clock in the morning and you have a paper due at 8:00am. This means it is crunch time. You feel the fear of failing to get the paper done, failing the class, and maybe failing at college. These fears lead to productivity and that paper gets written even if you must stay up until 3:00am.
- Fear can lead to growth and opportunity.
You have just been fired from a job you absolutely despise. With no prospects, you re-evaluate your life and try to figure out what you want to do. One option is finding another dead-end job working a schedule you hate and not having enough free time. Another option is finding your passion and creating your career in what you love. For me that was in counseling, for some people it is in comedy or entrepreneurship. The growth that can come from fear of not knowing where your next paycheck will come from can be very motivating to find a way to make money and get creative about it.
- Fear is courageous.
Sally is a ballerina that has practiced for hours on end day after day. At every recital, she fears the audience will not enjoy her performance or she will be booed off stage. It takes a great amount of courage to overcome that fear and go on stage anyway to do what she loves.
- Overcoming fear means something is more important.
James and Eliza are becoming first time parents. The thought of keeping another human being alive can be paralyzing, but the urge to pass on their genes and create life is more important. It must be more important for the continuation of our species. As a mother, Eliza may stay up at all hours of the night to care for the needs of her newborn, but she must remember raising her child is more important than sleep right now.
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