FEAR -- A VIABLE OPTION

In Mel Brooks' classic comedy skit, The 2000 Year Old Man, Carl Reiner, asks the old man what the major form of transportation was 2000 years ago. The old man answers, "Fear!"

Fear has been given a bum rap.

Fear keeps you going -- going to a job you might not like, going with a relationship that's less than rewarding, going to the health food store and going to the gym. Fear provides the "transportation" from things you don't want -- unemployment, loneliness, illness, and fat. Not to want something to happen is as good a motivator as to want something to happen. Fear motivates as effectively as desire.

Without good honest fear you'd be quitting your job at the slightest provocation, ending relationships the moment the toothpaste tube is squeezed in the middle, and stuffing down fried peanut butter and honey sandwiches on white bread during an eight hour stint on the couch.

Fear in the proper doses keeps you on the straight and narrow -- but you can overdose on this potentially good thing. Too much fear and you don't do what needs to be done -- leaving the job or the relationship that's draining you, using your leisure time doing the things you enjoy doing.

Fear, both healthy and unhealthy, drives your actions. Where does such a powerful force of nature come from? You're not born carrying a file folder full of fears. Fear is a learned emotion. You learn to fear everything you fear (except fears of falling, loud noises, and a legislature in session). What you have learned, you can unlearn. Unfortunately, when it comes to our fears, we tend to learn quickly and unlearn slowly.

You can't fear the past. Fear is a future thing, and since the future is all in your head, fear must be a head thing.

You're responsible for allowing in your head the amount of fear that stops you from crossing a busy street blindfolded and for blocking out the fear that keeps you in the house altogether. A rich, exciting, and vibrant life is the balance between productive and destructive fears -- your choice.


Lesson: Fear doesn't come as part of the human package, you add it as an option.