Fear - The Worst Enemy

Fear… A word whose mere mention brings in more of it. You would have heard and read so many times that ‘Fear is our greatest enemy’ yet day after day, month after month, year after year, we keep nurturing it such that it starts festering our entire existence. Just so as to comfort you, fear has been mentioned in ALL, yes ALL, religious & spiritual tomes across the world since writing came in existence. So, you are not the first or the only human facing it. In fact, each and every human and every other living creature, fears something or the other. So, you can take a deep breath and relax since you are not all alone is this or you are facing some unique challenge that no one else has faced earlier or now.

You must have also heard or read that the universe is ‘time’ & ‘space’. Have you wondered how? Your body occupies ‘space’ while your mind is always in ‘time’. Isn’t it? Your mind is either thinking about the ‘past’ or the ‘future’ which is nothing but time. Also, while the past & the future are infinite, the ‘present’ is just a moment and this is precisely the reason why it is so difficult to be in the present and so easy to be in the past or the future. Why am I telling you all this? It is because all your fears are emanating from your mind being in the future. You might find this all very philosophical but keep your ‘I know it all’ hat aside for a moment and think about it.

Do a small exercise. Disconnect yourself from all distractions (phone, emails, work, parenting… anything) and sit in a room all by yourself with a pen and a notebook. For 30 min, don’t do anything. Just stare at the blank wall in front of you. Set a timer so that you know when the 30 min are over. Let all thoughts float in and out of your mind. If the mind gets stuck on to any thought, just gently push it aside and make way for the next thought. You can call it meditation or introspection or whatever, that doesn’t matter. What it will help you achieve is to bring your mind to the ‘present’. Now pick up the notebook & pen and start writing in bullet points all the thoughts that crossed your mind. This would generally include all the stuff you are worried about or fear. Add anything else if you think has got missed but should have been there. Once finished, write each of these points as the header on separate sheets. Once done, start from the first sheet and in each write down (a) Is this to be feared or worried about RIGHT NOW? and (b) ‘The Worst Case Scenario’ based on your PRESENT.

This exercise will make you bring all your fears & action plan to the present. I am sure Coronavirus has taught a lot to everyone. Imagine the stark difference in challenges faced by individuals & organisations in Jan 20 Vs Jun 20. When you were struggling during your graduation days, what were your fears? When you were working at your first job, did you plan to be working for the company you are working for now? When you were going through tough times, were you not afraid of your family’s welfare? 

When anyone buys a lottery ticket, is he buying it thinking that he will not win it? In fact, each lottery ticket buyer ‘truly believes’ he will win the jackpot. Will he? Most probably not? But someone definitely will, for whom also the probability was the same. What you can DO is the action TODAY of ‘buying the ticket’ (meaning ‘doing what you can do’) and then ‘Hope’ to win it (meaning ‘get the results as planned’) because it is only the ‘hope’ that makes us human. Think about it. Animals don’t hope for tomorrow or worry about tomorrow. Only humans do. And it is being hopeful that keeps us motivated. Imagine a day when one has nothing to look forward to. This is the most terrifying thought. More fearful that any fear you have.