“Ships at port are safe” an old man once said.
However, ships were not built to live on port; rather, they were built to sail the sea. They are meant to delve deep into the abyss, savouring and discovering every treasures in the sea. And they are to be guided by a captain and that captain is you.
The ship referred to here is your will and determination.
Before a man can utilise the force of his will he must have a purpose. A clear visualised purpose, which would direct his path.
Nevertheless, fear is a major factor in the use of our will. Sometimes we pass out of fear, read in fear, and move into our purpose in fear.
In 2005, A Gallup poll was made among the teenagers in the United States and it was discovered that one of the top ten fears they have is the fear of failing. People refuse to leave their comfort zones and others left their comfort zone because of this same fear of failing, fear of the unknown.
And you hear people cry ‘what if?’
The question one need ask is “am I going to remain on the same spot uselessly? Am I going to be the ship which launched into the deep because of fear?
In 1920, John Watson B. carried out a little research on why people fear for the unknown, and why they fear the future and one of the reasons discovered was the KNOWLEDGE of past mistakes. Some psychologists also discovered that the more you study about people’s failure the more you fear. And the more you fear, the more you lose the opportunity to reach your goal.
However, you need to learn how to avoid and stop this fear because fear can be contagious. Have you seen the movie ‘42’? That movie that shows how Jackie Robinson, a black man and baseball player, endured ridicule, pain and shame before he made a home run for the Brooklyn Dodgers to enter the World Series, after which he and members of his team were inducted into the hall of fame. In that movie, a white man sat beside his son and was afraid the home team would lose, and to hide his fear, he began to hurl insults at Jackie Robinson, and because his son, who was sitting beside him was afraid of offending his father. He joined his father in calling Jackie names.
How many times have you feared something would happen and they happened? How many times were you afraid of offending and you did?
Fear will always go aflame in our heart, but we need to douse it always by focusing on others’ achievements, focusing on how some people made it. How they succeeded and you can break their record.
THE FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN-XENOPHOBIA
