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We undervalue ourselves most of the time. We overestimate our fears most of the time. An idea is nothing. Execution is everything.

darkmighty 8y ago
The extent to which we usually overestimate danger (i.e. are fearful) in non-physical situations can hardly be overstated. We often behave as if some social triviality or temporary financial issue were actually life threatening, when indeed near-worst case scenarios are almost inconsequential. That person will judge you for a week or so then forget about it; if you fail financially you can rely on family, friends, savings, social security to not go homeless. The probabilities of bodily harm or true social outcasting are often very remote (and even outcast is often a but choice, since there are always other accepting people elsewhere). Compare that with how much we fear climbing a simple step ladder -- we wouldn't give it much thought at all. But the probability of falling and having major bodily harm or even head trauma is perhaps much greater than the probability of poor outcomes from frightening daily situations. No that you shouldn't fear climbing ladders, just to give a perspective of how incongruent our intuitive fear can be to reality unless we police and adjust ourselves.
- scandinavegan 8y ago
  I heard somewhere, probably in a children's movie, something that I've talked to my kids about: Being brave is not feeling no fear, but to act even when you're afraid. Some fears are rational, but as you say, a lot of fears are totally out of proportion. It's important to not exaggerate any negative consequences that might arise from a situation. Another neat thing I heard in a podcast on writing was that the author fought her fear of talking in front of an audience with the fear of missing out. She knew that if she declined the invitation to speak at a convention, she would later regret missing out on the experience. So she used the latter fear to fight the former. It's important to not attempt to remove all fear from your life, as that's bound to fail anyway and make you more anxious, but to learn to live with fear on a low enough level so that you still keep acting.

darkmighty 8y ago

The extent to which we usually overestimate danger (i.e. are fearful) in non-physical situations can hardly be overstated. We often behave as if some social triviality or temporary financial issue were actually life threatening, when indeed near-worst case scenarios are almost inconsequential. That person will judge you for a week or so then forget about it; if you fail financially you can rely on family, friends, savings, social security to not go homeless. The probabilities of bodily harm or true social outcasting are often very remote (and even outcast is often a but choice, since there are always other accepting people elsewhere). Compare that with how much we fear climbing a simple step ladder -- we wouldn't give it much thought at all. But the probability of falling and having major bodily harm or even head trauma is perhaps much greater than the probability of poor outcomes from frightening daily situations. No that you shouldn't fear climbing ladders, just to give a perspective of how incongruent our intuitive fear can be to reality unless we police and adjust ourselves.

scandinavegan 8y ago
I heard somewhere, probably in a children's movie, something that I've talked to my kids about: Being brave is not feeling no fear, but to act even when you're afraid. Some fears are rational, but as you say, a lot of fears are totally out of proportion. It's important to not exaggerate any negative consequences that might arise from a situation. Another neat thing I heard in a podcast on writing was that the author fought her fear of talking in front of an audience with the fear of missing out. She knew that if she declined the invitation to speak at a convention, she would later regret missing out on the experience. So she used the latter fear to fight the former. It's important to not attempt to remove all fear from your life, as that's bound to fail anyway and make you more anxious, but to learn to live with fear on a low enough level so that you still keep acting.