How Fear Leads to Failure

Fear is a fundamental feature of our life.  It cannot be eradicated.  It differs from pain insofar as it anticipates something and is not experienced directly.  It is an anxiety about what might happen.  Existential philosophers refer to fear as rooted in our very existence.  They refer to it as “existential anxiety.”  Therefore, it is normal.  But how we respond to fear is another thing.  When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt told his countrymen that there is nothing to fear but fear itself, he was offering hope in a time of war.  When Karol Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II, the first thing he said to his people was, “Do not be afraid.”  This is all good advice, but how does one overcome fear, and what are the consequences of allowing fear to have its way?

Fear can lead to paralysis.  A person fears going to a job interview because he fears that he will not perform well and not be hired.  As a result, being overcome by fear, he decides not to go to the interview.  In so doing, he removes the possibility of landing the job.  A young man fears being rejected by an attractive girl.  He gets cold feet and decides not to call her.  He avoids the pain of rejection but forfeits the possibility of having the girl as a friend.  There are many highly talented musicians who avoid performing because they fear public criticism or making mistakes. 

Theologian/psychologist Paul Tillich draws a distinction between normal existential anxiety which plagues everyone, and pathological anxiety which is self-defeating.  Using metaphysical language, he defines a neurosis as a way of “avoiding non-being by avoiding being.”  In his celebrated book, The Courage To Be, he explains that what we need to avoid a neurosis and overcome fear is precisely the courage to be.  Without courage, we get nowhere.  With courage we can be what we are destined to be.

Courage, then, is the willingness to face possible negatives for a fuller positivity.  It is a form of self-affirmation when there is the possibility of danger.  The expression “nothing ventured, nothing gained” reminds us that life itself is an adventure.  And all adventures are fraught with the possibility of failure.  In every decision we make hangs the possibility of either succeeding or failing.  Winning may be possible, but it becomes impossible if we do not play the game.  The willingness to play the game, to enter the fray, demands courage, a virtue that is required of us on a daily basis.

Novelist Eric de Jong once declared that she preferred keeping her womb empty but full of possibilities.  A mere possibility, however, will not be realized without the requisite amount of courage.  Women who are childless often regret their barren state later in life.  For the vast majority of human beings, regret follows missed opportunities, failures to take a risk, possibilities that were never realized.   When we do find the courage to overcome our fears, we often look back and say to ourselves, “What was I so worried about?” 

We cannot be happy with ourselves in the absence of courage, nor can we find peace.  Amelia Earhart, the famous aviatrix, remarked, “Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.  The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things.”  How can we live with ourselves if we are continually overcome by our fears?  Fear of failure ensures failure.  John Robert Wooden, the winningest college basketball coach, called “The Wizard of Westwood,” would tell his troops that “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”  And preparation to succeed includes the confidence that goes with courage.

Courage in little things may not make the headlines, but it is of essential importance in the making of character.  As Aristotle stated, “You will never do anything in this world without courage.  It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.”  For Martin Luther King, Jr., “We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.”  We need small doses of courage, applied repeatedly throughout the day.

The Bible contains many passages that implore us to be courageous in the face of fear.  In Joshua 1:9 we read:  “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy” (Ps. 95:19).  “So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can mere mortals do to me?’” (Heb. 13:6).  “Humble yourselves, then, under God’s mighty hand, so that he will lift you up in his own good time.  Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:6-7).  “Immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage! It is I.  Don’t be afraid’” (Mk. 6:50).

A teacher may fear giving a lecture on a theme that is politically incorrect.  The tendency in universities these days is to conform to the Zeitgeist.  But what is unpopular may be edifying.  The timid lecturer who fears denunciation becomes a failure in his vocation and in his own eyes.  Fear that is not overcome either by courage or by faith is a certain formula for failure.   The courage to conform to the truth rather than to the world is the only formula for success and the formation of character.

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