What is the cost of fear? You may be surprised. We must, however, first recognize the horrifying effects of fear on our lives in order to tame it. What happens when fear motivates us? Mental and emotional stability are lost. Anxiety and frazzled thoughts plague our minds. It limits our capacity for openness and strength to think and act in a way that is self-protective. We are paralyzed from acting to fulfill our dreams as our natural tendencies for self-expression are paused.
We become constrained and small when we allow fear to control our ambitions and behaviors. As a result, we become timid and stressed. In response, we withdraw. Our cowardice makes us cowards. Everything trapped in the cage of fear smothers and dies quickly due to the entropy of life’s energy. We are not discussing philosophy here. When we allow fear to take precedence over our desire to pursue Personal Freedom, we suffer real, tangible harm. There are some people who are so enslaved by fear that they continually feel powerless, inferior, and in danger of giving up.
Because they don’t speak up for themselves, they allow others to hurt them. Playing it safe, they never let the world see what they’re really like. They watched atrocities play out without speaking a word of protest; the meek who stood to inherit the earth but never rose to claim it. Despite their best efforts, good people do not make an impact on history. Innovators and entrepreneurs lose their businesses because fear prevents them from changing.
Oftentimes, marriages end in divorce because one or both spouses are afraid to communicate, to be vulnerable, sexy, or honest. Throughout history, all the worst atrocities have been committed because of fear. The fear of other people often drives people to be frightened, distrustful, and even hateful.
Because of their fear, they want power over others to the point of overweening self-protection. Often, their unchecked fear leads them to commit unspeakable crimes against humanity when the rise of people unlike themselves challenges their egos to such a degree that they become bigots, tyrants, and sometimes murderers.
It is these people who hate others because they fear those who stand in their way to power, the Caligulas, Mussolinis, and Bin Ladens of the world. A Robertspierre, an Eichmann, a Sung, and a Khomeni, a Hitler, a Stalin, and an Amin. Over and over again, we see those in power who have insecurity that, rather than directing their strengths to lift everyone up, prefer to push down those who are unlike themselves, those they don’t understand and value.
It goes without saying that fear, whether in our daily lives or on the global stage, is the greatest enemy of progress and self-determination. There are many good males and females throughout history who simply let fear drive their lives, which is a sad but true fact. The mind never had a cue to correct itself, or they did not choose to do the hard work to condition their thoughts to tame fear, to choose consciousness over running away from life.
