Today’s topic in our continuing series is Fear. Specifically, Two Types of Fear!

Introduction

Fear is an extremely important topic. Specifically, the two types of fear we’re going to explore today. An extremely important thing that every one of us needs to address and deal with in our personal lives. I say that because it has been my experience that every bad behavior and choice in our lives can be traced back to a very basic fear.

And fear can be very personal, and it’s a very complicated subject, so to keep things simple for this discussion, I’m just going to talk about two basic types of fear.

But I want to give you an example that you might be able to relate to first, which we’re all familiar with, and an argument that we’ve all come to accept, which is the argument around bullies.

Fear Case Study

So bullies, I think, are a really good example of how fear can manifest into really bad behavior, really aggressive behavior. So you look at a bully on the surface and at someone very aggressive and angry.

But the reality is we know that those people typically have extremely fragile egos and very low self-esteem, and all of that stuff can ultimately be traced back to some fear; they’re living with some fear in their life, either fear of loss or a fear of being called out or found out. Or worse, very real physical or emotional abuse.

So, with that in mind, the importance of fear should not ever be undervalued; you really should look at your life, especially if it’s not exactly the way you want it to be these days, and look at the fears that might be holding you back from living your true self.

Two Types of Fear

Fear of Failure.

The fear of failure is the fear that keeps us from even trying; it’s the thing that stops us from ever starting, keeps us where we are, and is a natural biological response. Our brains and our emotions are pre-wired to keep us alive. No matter what the scenario is, no matter what the upside is, if your brain anticipates something as a risk or as a hazard, it’s going to do whatever it can to convince you not to take that risk or not to endure that hazard because it wants to keep you safe even if being safe means being stuck where you are which is a place that you don’t necessarily want to be.

Okay, so the fear of failure, we know, is the thing that our subconscious mind does, and sometimes even our conscious mind, to convince us not to do something, not to try out, to not ask for that promotion, not to enter that race, not to try something new, those are all fears of failure, fear of embarrassment, a loss of social status, embarrassment – those are all fears of failure.

Fear of Success.

How could the fear of success even exist? Please wait a minute; of course, we all want to be successful; the fear of success is tricky because it’s much harder for us to recognize. When we’re afraid to do something, it’s very visceral; it’s very practical, it’s right in our face; I do not want to try that; I’m afraid of that. What if I fail or get hurt or don’t reach my goal, right? Those are all obvious when you have a fear of failure.

But fear of success is that thing that stops us right before the finish line; it convinces us that good enough is good enough. We don’t have to be great. The fear of success is that thing that sabotages us and causes us to give up just before we reach our goal.

So, for many people, when they start a new endeavor like a new business or relationship, the fear of success stops them from living fully. The reason I say that and how I can probably best demonstrate that for you is when you sabotage yourself, it’s about your ability to succeed at a certain level.

If I do get this promotion, what’s going to happen? Oh my gosh, what if I don’t live up to it? What if I can’t handle the additional stress and responsibility, right? Those are all fears of success.

So, fear of failure keeping us from starting and of success keeping us from finishing can stunt our growth and success.

Exploring the Two Types of Fear within Yourself.

Think about times in your life when you were afraid to start something, when you didn’t quite get the desired result, or you somehow sabotaged your success. Then pull the thread on those, do the work to either journal or meditate on it, take a walk, or really think about those examples in your life.

And then try and trace that back to its fundamental, foundational fear. What was it actually that you were really afraid of? It probably wasn’t the goal you were afraid of, but what were you afraid of achieving? What were you afraid of maybe losing if you didn’t achieve that level of success?

Conclusion

So those things I want you to think about today centered around fear. If you have questions, of course, put them in the comment section below, ask me a question if I forgot something, and tell me I’m dead wrong if you think so. Still, in either case, I would encourage you to subscribe to the YouTube channel to continue to get short videos like this, things that you can ponder better to achieve your idea of identity and purpose in life, and then at any time, you can Book a Call.