The pointlessness of fear
What we fear doing most is what most we need to do. Timothy Ferris
Under normal circumstances, fear is irrational.
Fear is an excuse. It stops us being great. It keeps us at the bottom.
Fear can manifest itself in many ways. It can become a form of procrastination, laziness, or an illusion that we cannot achieve our goals.
In many walks of lives, fear dictates what, how and when we do things.
We fear to eat well.
Over the years we have learned that a healthy and diverse diet can significantly improve our physical and mental health. Many of us have tested that on ourselves going one way or the other. Across many Western European countries, governments have now introduced schemes encouraging their citizens to increase consumption of healthy food.
For instance:
In Germany, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture rolled out a Good Food for Germany scheme. A program that aims at increasing quality of what we eat and improving access to good food irrespective of income.
The UK government rolled out an Eat Well Guide. A scheme, like the one in Germany, that aims at improving understanding and choice of what a healthy diet should be.
In many countries around the Mediterranean Sea, the diet has always been an integral part of the local culture. France and Italy are famous for their delicious cuisine, benefits of which have been proven on countless occasion.
The European Office of the World Health Organisation has even formalised a Mediterranean Diet Pyramid to help us guide our choices.
Even though a healthy diet has a monumental effect on our health, many of us still ignore it and indulge in highly process, fatty and low in nutrients diets.
According to the World Obesity Foundation four in ten of adult males are now obese in the United States. In the UK and Germany that percentage sits at 26.9% and 23.1% respectively. Even in Italy, almost 2 in 10 adults are now obese. Fear drives our choices.
We fear to train hard.
Only a small proportion of us exercise regularly. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that only about 24.2% adults aged 18 or older met the physical activity guidelines for both aerobic and muscle strengthening activity in America. Even worse is the fact that this numbers decrease with age.
I was a victim too. When I used to go for a run I opted for an easy version. I run at a slow and steady peace. I knew I should have varied the intensity, distance, and terrain, yet I did not.
It was fear that prevented me from pushing harder.
Thankfully I realised it in time and took corrective steps. Today when I put on my running shoes, fear stays locked up behind.
We fear to be financially independent.
We fear left behind when we do not upgrade to the latest model of the BWM. We fear that our so called friends may look down on us when we do not wear the latest Canada Goose parka. We invest into the wrong stocks for fear of missing out (FOMO).
Decisions we make are often guided by wrong principles. We ought to base our financial planning on independent objectives and not let anything or anybody dictate our choices.
Fear not to try and fail. Failure and pain are temporary. Greatness on the other hand lasts forever.
M | K