Fear isn’t real. Seriously. Fear is being afraid of what may or may not actually happen. It hasn’t actually happened and it may never happen.
And yet fear is persuasive. It defines our actions and ultimately decides our journey.
If we let it. Fear has that power, if we let it have that power. We don’t have to let it.
Again, fear isn’t real. Accepting this super simple fact gives you the freedom to ignore it. Happiness lives on the other side of that fear.
People who understand the power of fear use it to manipulate their world. They use it to get us to vote certain ways – IMMIGRANTS WILL TAKE YOUR JOBS! WOMEN WILL TAKE YOUR JOBS!
But seriously, that hasn’t happened. And there is no guarantee it will. But there’s a chance and that chance causes anxiety. And if that anxiety is stoked, we will fight to stop it. We spend a big chunk of our lives fighting fear.
We fight it through complacency.
We fight it with hate.
We fight it with manipulation.
We fight our fear of the unknown with the ugliest tools in our possession. Because we’re afraid.
Again, fear isn’t real. We fight an unproven reality with the ugliest tools in our possession. It’s really quite sad when you think about it.
So how should we fight fear?
Heed fear’s warnings but proceed anyway. Do the right thing, no matter how scary it may be. Take the new job. You may hate it but you may love it. And if you’re unhappy in your current job, the likelihood it’s better is huge.
Write down your fear. Sometimes the act of writing something down makes us realize how significant (or insignificant) it actually is. And if it still feels huge, the act of writing it down can kickstart the process of working through it.
Face it. If it’s uncertainty making you fearful, confront the people living through it or in it. Getting laid off is scary. Maybe talking to people who have been laid off previously can shed light on the realities of the scenario instead of focusing on the unknowns.
