Rebooting Your Brain

CHAPTER 18Super Myth: You Should Be Afraid of Fear

There exists one word in the English language, a simple four‐letter word that has the power to conquer virtually everything it encounters. Throughout the ages it has wreaked more havoc, destroyed more dreams, and crippled the actions of more people than any natural disaster that Mother Nature has ever thrown at us. What is this almighty four‐letter word? Fear.

The root of every excuse, every rationalization, and every justification can ultimately be traced back to fear. The philosopher and poet Suzy Kassem once said,

“Fear kills more dreams than failure ever will.”

Fear robs us of our will. It convinces us the risks are too great and the probability of success is too low. Fear plants the seed of doubt, and once it takes root, it kills most everything it comes into contact with. Fear truly does kill more dreams than failure ever will for the simple reason that fear convinces people not to try. If they don't try, they will never fail; however, they will also never succeed.

Ironically, most of what we fear never comes to fruition. In a study at the University of Pennsylvania it was found that 91.4% of all fears didn't come true. I mean, would you go to a surgeon who had a 91.4% failure rate? Would you fly on an airline that crashed 91.4% of the time? No way. Yet we trust our fears like they are the word of God. If our fears are wrong so much of the time, why do we possess this debilitating emotion and why do we place so much ...