What Role Does Fear Play In Your Life?

Fear is a powerful emotion that we all feel at many points in our lives. How do you react when faced with something you fear?

Fear can take many different shapes. You might be afraid for yourself, or fear for the safety of others. There is the gut-wrenching terror accompanying sudden physical danger, or the overwhelming sense of dread over some future danger.

Whatever the nature of the fear, harnessing it can be an effective tool for controlling people. Scared people will do almost anything to feel less afraid, including abandoning strongly held principles and beliefs, or selling out a neighbor or colleague.

Part of the reason for that is that people do not make the best decisions when they are afraid. When someone is in fight or flight mode, carefully evaluating all possibilities becomes less important. As a result, if you let fear dominate your other emotions, bad choices may result. You might easily miss an option that would be more effective or desired.

But fear does not always have to be a bad thing. There is a valid reason for it — it helps you learn what to avoid or minimize. You can also choose to be motivated to prepare contingency plans because you are afraid of doing the wrong thing. In turn, that preparation can help to lessen the fear.

What are you afraid of, and how does that fear shape your life? Can you think of times when being afraid has made a bad situation worse? Or alternately, have you ever channeled your fear in a positive way?

Related questions: Why are people afraid of death? Have you ever been afraid for your life? How does technology influence your emotions? Why does social media often bring out the worst in us?