We Have Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself
Everyone who is anyone with achievement and wisdom counsels us against fear!
Jesus Christ counseled against fear.
Pope John Paul III counseled against fear.
Earl Nightingale, the pioneer in self-improvement pointed out that most things we worry endlessly about never occur except in our own negative imaginations.
Napoleon Hill wrote in his classic “Laws Of Success” about the ghosts of fear.
The President he wrote speeches for goaded America out of the Depression and famously said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself!”
Every person I’ve ever known who has made a fear-based business decision has later regretted it.
Every time we say no to fear, we win!
It’s important to understand that fear is learned.
We are born with fears of falling, loud unknown noises, and snakes.
Otherwise we are deposited here free of fear!
We learn our fears from other humans.
We are conditioned to be fearful by what we hear and observe as children, by the influences of other fearful adults we associate with.
The irrational nature of most fears is illustrated by the fact that more people fear public speaking than fear debilitating illness or death!
More people fear airplane travel than automobile travel even though statistically air travel is infinitely safer!
it is my observation and conviction that more people are controlled and inhibited by their fears about money than any other kind of fear!
People fear not having it, but they also fear being changed by having it!
They fear making poor decisions about it!
They fear running out of it before they die!
They fear losing it most of all!
Consider an analogy, something you once did not understand, found incredibly difficult if not impossible to do, and hoped you would not encounter or have to deal with.
Often there’s some single, simple “trick” that changes everything.
For example, if you attempt to assemble difficult jigsaw puzzles with a zillion pieces and you don’t know that it helps enormously to build the outside four sides first.
You may be stymied and frustrated until somebody takes pity on you and shows you that trick!
The “oh, now I understand!” moment is wonderful, isn’t it?
Well, here’s the trick about money:
AWESOME POST Duane!
As a society we have so many unhelpful beliefs about money, its acquisition and its usage.
On a personal level, this is a helpful mind-trick for all of us.
I am not afraid! By the way is that JJ’s brain. Between his abs and his brain he should be able to retire soon!
Great post man!
Anthony
http://www.anthonylemme.com
Duane,
Fear is the unseen opponent we must face. I like the puzzle metaphor.
Lynn Lane
Success Strategies For Life
Success Today
Duane,
Awesome post! The cartoons were hilarious, and the message was spot on — we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
Health, Fitness, Success — Darryl Pace
Fitness Product Review
Fantastic post!!!! Wow, this is the best thing I’ve read on the web in ages (of course not counting any blog posts by other members of our group that may be reading this! LOL) Seriously, I can really relate to this. And thanks for the reminder that money is readily replaceable.
Lisa McLellan
Babysitting Tips, Babysitting Services – Babysitters, Nannies, and Au-pairs
Very interesting article. For the most part I agree that over-coming fear is extremely important, but I also think that we are unconsciously biased towards fear in evolutionary terms; it was better for us to be cautious about picking that unusual berry than to think, “Nuts, I’ll eat it anyway.”
That said, some people seem inherently better at taking risks than others.
I think misplaced fear is the real issue – which thinking about it now is very much the learned fear that you’re talking about. Quite often I will say to someone in a rut, “What would be the bad thing about doing X?” Often they will either say, “Nothing!” or else construct a completely nonsensical justification for a fear based on their past.
Philip Graves
Consumer Behaviour Research
author of “The Secret of Selling: How to Sell to Your Customer’s Unconscious Mind”
Hi Duane,
Great post! If you haven’t thought of putting all these blog posts into an eBook or a printed book, then maybe you should.
F.E.A.R. = False Emotions Appearing Real.
Heard this years from ago from Dennis Waitley. But then, is fear is really an emotion at all?
By changing our mental state, we remove fear without the need to fight with it in the first place. By treating many things in life as a process, it helps a lot to remove our emotional attachments. Thus make us more capable to perform at peak level. By expecting hardship & difficulties ahead, we are more psychologically prepared to over ride them. But might be this takes out the “fun” and “wild” side of life.
But without peace, where is happiness?
To a great extent, we ARE what we think.
John Ho
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personality for Better Influence & Persuasion
Numerology Expert Birthday Numeroscope
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personality for Better Influence & Persuasion