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Is the Fear of the Thing Worse Than the Thing Itself?
Too often, yes. Take a moment to see and understand how fear works on you.
You and I live in a fear-based society. If you have never encountered this notion before, all you have to do is look at all the people out there reacting to this, that, or the other thing out of fear.
It’s everywhere. Spend any time online and it will smack you upside the head. Fear over this change or that. Being afraid of getting sick with COVID-19. Fear over the outcome of the elections. You name it, fear is everywhere you turn.
When fear is about something tangible — like a car coming at you, or something to dodge from falling on your head, or a gun pointed at you — that’s one thing. That is legit fear telling you there is a problem and you have to react.
But when fear is about something intangible — like success, failure, abandonment, lack, and scarcity, or any other notions which you cannot see and dodge — that’s another thing. And that is something that will probably do less harm than the fear itself.
People tend not to recognize intangible fears as being any different from tangible ones. Yet fear will produce the same fight-or-flight response, no matter what form it takes.
