Fearful

Fear.  It’s something we all have and always will.  In my mind, fear is a feeling we hold onto our entire lives that came from being told something would bring a bad result. Everything we are scared of is either an object or experience we know can harm us in some way (mentally or physically).  Fears are not always justifiable but they are there. They are different for everyone because we’re all brought up in different cultures with different belief systems.

We ultimately have fears to help keep us out of danger, but a lot of times fears can stop us from growing and taking chances that could improve our lives.  Millions and millions of years ago, fear was necessary and instinctual.  Now that we don’t have to worry so much about being eaten by bears, fear has become not just about spiders and heights, but societal issues.  Bad experiences can affect someone so much that the fear of that happening again can debilitate them forever.  Fear can be paralyzing.  I think it’s a sort of mental process and our brains learn to think this way after we expose it to enough fear, whether rational or irrational.  I feel that a lot of fears are encouraged by “what if” questions.  Not the helpful kind we use in class, but the ones that stop you form doing the things you want to.  Maybe you want to take a trip but all you can think about is “what if the plane crashes?”, “what if someone breaks into my hotel room?”, “what if someone robs my house while I’m away?”.  All of these could happen, but letting the possibility of bad things happening affect your life is not a good way to live.  Bad things can happen anytime, anywhere.  So why live in fear?  Because it is what we have been taught.