Many of us have come to associate fear with something negative.

And yet, all the successful people we know, probably felt fear or unsettling feelings before they embarked upon the venture that catapulted them to greatness.

How do you determine if your fears are the type which call you out of your comfort zone and into something better, or the fear which alerts and protects you from danger ahead, whether it be in romance, career or even change of residence?
.

Many of us have come to associate fear with something negative.

And yet, all the successful people we know, probably felt fear or unsettling feelings before they embarked upon the venture that catapulted them to greatness.

How do you determine if your fears are the type which call you out of your comfort zone and into something better, or the fear which alerts and protects you from danger ahead, whether it be in romance, career or even change of residence?
.

Healthy vs Unhealthy Fear

Many of us have come to associate fear with something negative.

all the successful people we know, probably felt fear or unsettling feelings before they embarked upon the venture that catapulted them to greatness.

How do you determine if your fears are the type which call you out of your comfort zone and into something better, or the fear which alerts and protects you from danger ahead, whether it be in romance, career or even change of residence?

For many years for me it was the hopeless feeling of growing old alone. But, once I came to terms with myself on this issue I am fine now, no matter which way life takes me. It is so easy to let your fears and apprehensions take over your life, but once you stand up to them and understand the cause, you overcome, and life from that point is nothing but a blessing.

we have brains to protect us from dangers around us so we can survive so fear

is natural....its when the fear is much more than what is needed in the moment

is when we have a problem.....the same thing goes for our other feelings like

anger and sadness for example...... when a feeling is more than is enough we

know your not in the here and know....most everyone has more or less problem

with this.....thats why most of this stuff is surface noise......the

successful people have problems also the difference is they did not give

up.....everyone around us have there own reality,,,the biggest obstacle we

have to success that i see is self-esteem it affects everything in our

lives....its not easy to look inside ourselves to find the answers it can be

scary and painful at times......

Fear of change is a natural part of human existence and as was stated earlier is one of the ways the mind protects use. However, when this fear controls our actions this can lead to social phobias and psychosis. I'm sure as OP said that many famous people have felt fear of some sort before taking on any great venture. Speaking from my time in the NAVY fear was a little something I carried around in my back pocket when on deployment, but the trick is not to let it dictate your actions.

I am sure that most if not all the great men and women in history felt the fear of trying something new, focused on the benefits of the perceived end results, put their fear in their back pocket and went for it. Just remember that whenever you are braking new ground there will be a lot of naysayers because if you succeed they will have to change the way they think and as I stated earlier it's natural to fear change.

I think it's more about what you DO about your fear that matters.

Lots of people who have trouble with it, do so for the same reason they have problems every time they feel love: they think it's a magically knowledgeable sensation, and that they should immediately stop thinking, and go with whatever their primal urges of the moment are.\

Do that with love, and you end up in a lot of beds you regret. Do that with fear, and you end up running off a cliff, because the car engine backfires.

Fear has many agendas sure it can be protective and keep us safe ... but it can also be irrational , manipulative , controlling and oppressive . It is a powerfully persuasive and dysfunctional social weapon whether the target is self or others .

I think instinct has a lot to do with determining which fear to use. It is the fight or flight built into us. The fear that calls us out of our comfort zone usually comes with some affirmation. When I returned to school, I was afraid. My friend encouraged me by finding out what I feared most. My greatest fear was time, how would I fit one more thing into my day? But it was exciting! The other fear is harder to explain.

excellent question

I feel it really requires a well developed sense of self



just like not all love feels the same,, not all fear does either


there is a fear that is more of an anxious feeling,, stemming from uncertainty

there is also fear that is a gut wrenching aversion, stemming from a knowledge of impending danger or harm


its a very personal journey deciphering which is which

There aren't really different kinds of fear.
Only different responses to fear.
You have a reaction to fear.
It either leads to healthy or unhealthy consequences.


Hopefully all of us without brain and/or emotional problems.
I mean the people who associate fear with positive and neutral things tend to be funny guests on talk shows.
"Oh no! Aluminum foil! My nemesis! I must escape!"

Other than that, everyone (outside of sociopaths) feel fear.
And then they rationalize and trigger associations to justify the fear.
Situation triggers fear...THEN come up with ideas "I'm not going to under tip, I'm not going into that dark alley there could be muggers, too many red flags so I'm not going to date."
Associations come after the emotion, not before.

Fear is a negative motivator. Do/don't do something in order to get away from it, to lessen stress, to avoid.
As opposed to desire being a positive motivator. Do/don't do something in order to get something, to add something.


Eh.
Everyone feels fear.
Even those that aren't "catapulted to greatness."

So it should be "all the people we know, felt fear or unsettling feelings, at some point."

It would be an entirely different thread altogether if you asked "do you think all successful people catapulted to greatness understand and/or can deal with fear better than those who aren't great?" or something.


There is no difference between the fears.
Fear is fear and you choose what complex ideas and concepts to associate with it.
It's all ultimately fear of death.
Ostracization, losing freedom and control, means you can't fulfill basic needs, you die.

People can use fear as a motivator to do/don't do something that happens to lead to something they value more, but it doesn't have to.
It all depends on perceptions of reality and consequences.

"If I avoid all conflict I will be safe....I don't leave my house, I'm polite to people, I behave civilly, I only interact via the internet where people can't get me, no one can judge me, no one can kick me out of the group, I can control the environment I live in so nothing harms me, I can control myself and my environment, I'm safe."

"I can't avoid conflict so I'm just going to be the baddest mother around, have the biggest muscles, the biggest attitude, the most friends, the most power, I control the rules, I get to decide who gets kicked out, I can control everyone else, and their environment, I'm safe."

Some people feel safer only with a sword, some feel safer only with a shield, most use a little of both.

That's the only difference, which of those two things people choose to use in response to fear of a certain situation.
Lash out or turtle up.

Your life experience, genes, height, weight, gender, hormones, how people treat you, your socioeconomic level, your culture, your norms, your education, etc. ad infinitum all help decide how each individual reacts to their fear.

Or i.e. depends on the situation.