It has been a while since I last posted. This is mostly due to my contentment with my situation, career, life in general and so on. That being said, I ran into a topic this week that I felt the need to write about. Fear vs. Passion.
No human is immune to fear. We all have a prefrontal cortex so we all have the ability to conjure up false expectations in all areas of our lives. Some build the courage to push through their fears. Others will become inert and crippled by their fears. Fears will always be there, especially when venturing into an unknown territory, be it a new career path, health regimen or relationship. Fear is sewn into the fabric of our lives and has a way of impairing our judgement. Many people are dominated by what they stand to lose instead of what they can gain.
This is evident everywhere in today’s world. Some people fear immigrants,guns, crime, plane flights, you name it. Overcoming these things that seemingly control you is not as hard as you may think. You CAN challenge outdated beliefs and take inspired action to support your passions rather than your fears. The sentiments of fear are driven by disgust and tribal signaling, not evidence and sound argumentation. I have so many friends that I see choked by fears that dominate their very existence. It makes me sad for them.
I see fear manifest itself in many ways. It is often referred to as a cascading affect. Our self preservation instinct begins the process by making us wary of situational dangers. That leads to fear of other people. This fear of people generally leads to anger at all of the previous. Anger and fear together merge into self loathing and then projecting of that self hate on others. Does this describe you? Many people ruled by fear are often angry at almost everything. They tend to be distrustful and suspicious.
Passions are connected to your greater self that is not bound by fears or negative emotions, but inspiration. When inspiration and passion converge, it is akin to a matchstick thrown on dry wood resulting in a burning flame. Empathy, Self Awareness, and an analytical mind can fan the flames of passion. I have many friends that love life to the fullest and live every moment with love and compassion. Being around these folks is uplifting, refreshing and makes everyone around them, with the exception of the people mired in fear, feel fantastic.
It is neither feasible to or possible to insulate yourself from fearful people. You have to be exposed to lots of views to grow.
Inspired leadership and love for what you do is born from having a passion for a subject or people. People should use their passion and purpose to ignite the engine that drives them to do what they do. This passion is infectious and contagious — it permeates all areas of their lives and rubs off on the people around them.
The ultimate way to know if someone has real passion instead of being stooped in fear is Optimism.
If you want to increase your opportunities, improve your relationships and think clearly and constructively, you’re best positioned to maintain a positive attitude. Of all the things that we try to control and influence, our attitude is the primary thing that is always within our control. We can choose to live each day by being positive. An emotionally intelligent person is interested in overall success and achievement — not just for themselves, but for their peers. Their inspired leadership and passion, combined with their optimism, drives them to want to do best for themselves AND others.
Too often, we get so self-absorbed and concerned only with “WIIFM,” or — What’s in it for me? We have to be concerned about this. It’s a must, so don’t let anyone ever convince you otherwise. But in the same way that we should be focused on our self-interest, we should also maintain a spirit of desire and hope for wanting to see the people around us succeed.
Not only is this a brilliant safeguard against envy and greed, it also revitalizes our passion and drives us toward achieving our next goal. It helps us gain allies and builds powerful relationships that come back to help us in reciprocal fashion.