Jacksgap, one of my favorite accounts on YouTube, recently did a two part collaboration with Skype where they asked viewers from all over the world to submit clips of them explaining what they love and what they fear. Two seemingly simple questions evolved into two quite magical and thought provoking videos, so I thought what better to write about on a Sunday afternoon than fear itself? (I'll link both of the videos down below so you can watch them, if you'd like. And yes, I cried during both of them. Don't tell anyone, I'd hate for the Internet to find out.)
What do you fear?
Simple enough question to begin with, right? I've looked up the top 10 fears of people around the world, and these were the results:
1. Snakes
2. Thunderstorms
3. Darkness
4. Heights
5. Blood
6. Death
7. Rats/mice
8. Spiders
9. Dogs
10. Flying
Now, on several different sites were a slightly different combination of almost all of those answers, so I think it's safe to say that those are pretty much the top 10. I could definitely vouch for some of those answers, but I feel as though myself (and a whole lot of other people) fear things that aren't entirely physical. The things in this world that have more of a physiological impact in the long run. Many of the submissions from the Skype calls were very easy to relate to. The fear of being alone, feeling empty, not being happy in the future, the future itself, loosing the ones you love--those kind of fears.
There was just a big discussion on this very topic the other evening, actually, as part of 'The Great Think-off,' I believe. The question was asking what's the greatest motivator: Fear or Love? Right off the bat, I immediately sided with love being every argument seemed to lead back to it. But in the instant motivation, fear is what's going to get you moving, no matter what the outcome is for. The fear of striking out, the fear of death, the fear of never seeing loved ones again, fear kicks in with your natural instincts for survival. And I feel like our society has trained us to believe that fear is ultimately the death of you. That you have to always put on this strong front for the world as if to say everything is always okay and grand; that you're not struggling at all, because then others will take advantage of you in your time of weakness. Fear is not something that should be covered up. You need to recognize that you have a fear and find a way to overcome it to ultimately make you that stronger person. If you play the 'Everything is Okay' card all the time, you will have manifested what shuts yourself down. No one is able to handle all of that alone. Talk to someone you trust, someone who loves you, and tell them what been bothering you. Why you're scared of loosing them or yourself. Why you fear what's to come, and figure out how to overcome it. Fear is the matter of a mental barrier, which may be the most difficult to overcome, but it's not impossible.
So yes, embrace those fears that motivate you, that keep you going, that build you into a better and stronger person. But don't let those fears shut you down. The same thing that has this great ability to motivate you has an even greater ability to destroy you. The moment you let your fears get to you by telling yourself you aren't capable of something or that you're not strong enough to accomplish it is the moment you extinguish your light. That hope you once had is seemingly lost, and it's going to take a whole lot more than overcoming your fears to regain it.
There was just a big discussion on this very topic the other evening, actually, as part of 'The Great Think-off,' I believe. The question was asking what's the greatest motivator: Fear or Love? Right off the bat, I immediately sided with love being every argument seemed to lead back to it. But in the instant motivation, fear is what's going to get you moving, no matter what the outcome is for. The fear of striking out, the fear of death, the fear of never seeing loved ones again, fear kicks in with your natural instincts for survival. And I feel like our society has trained us to believe that fear is ultimately the death of you. That you have to always put on this strong front for the world as if to say everything is always okay and grand; that you're not struggling at all, because then others will take advantage of you in your time of weakness. Fear is not something that should be covered up. You need to recognize that you have a fear and find a way to overcome it to ultimately make you that stronger person. If you play the 'Everything is Okay' card all the time, you will have manifested what shuts yourself down. No one is able to handle all of that alone. Talk to someone you trust, someone who loves you, and tell them what been bothering you. Why you're scared of loosing them or yourself. Why you fear what's to come, and figure out how to overcome it. Fear is the matter of a mental barrier, which may be the most difficult to overcome, but it's not impossible.
So yes, embrace those fears that motivate you, that keep you going, that build you into a better and stronger person. But don't let those fears shut you down. The same thing that has this great ability to motivate you has an even greater ability to destroy you. The moment you let your fears get to you by telling yourself you aren't capable of something or that you're not strong enough to accomplish it is the moment you extinguish your light. That hope you once had is seemingly lost, and it's going to take a whole lot more than overcoming your fears to regain it.
Let fear be the motivation that keeps you going, not the thing that shuts you down.
-Belle xx
