Chapter 9 Fearless

Fear has an acrostic:False Evidence Appearing Real. It's often quoted to help people banish their imaginary fears. Clever and creative in its construction, it is often misunderstood in its application.Let me explain.

Essentially, there are two kinds of fear. One kind is the feeling we get when we're physically threatened. It's the feeling we have if we're about to run over by a car when crossing the road. It's the kind of fear that shouts: run, dodge, dive or get out of the way. Clearly there's nothing imaginary about that, and no need for the acrostic.

The other kind of fear is in our hands. It's the thoughts we hold about what might happen in the future, based on our imagination or experiences in the past. This is the type of fear the acrostic is aimed at.


The trouble is, people often interpret the acrostic this way: if the fear is not an immediate physical threat, it's not real. But


I disagree. Fear's function is to stop you from getting hurt. It warms you of danger whether it's a few months away, just around the corner or in your face. For instance, if I'm going to fight in a karate tournament next week and i know I've got holes in my defense, of course I'm going to be afraid. Especially when the symmetry of my nose is at stake. In fact, I'd probably pull out of the competition or work on my blocking skills. Fear of the future is helpful, healthy even. It motivates you to take action.


You see, fear isn't the problem; it's the thought behind the fear. For example: if each time you took a lift you worried about it getting stuck, even when you had no evidence to prove it would, that would be unhealthy. Just a minute: I take that back. It may be healthy if you ended up taking the stairs. But it would be impractical if you if you had 30 floors to climb.


On a serious note, be very clear, we're not talking about being fearless here. The point is: we need to uncover the thought behind the fear, and then evaluate the evidence. If the evidence is false, then so is the fear.