Fear

Throughout my life, there have been countless occurrences where fear has kept me from achieving my goals or making my dreams a reality. As a kid, it was my fear of being hit by the ball that prevented me from ever swinging the bat in Little League. In high school, I chose to manage for the basketball team instead of play because I was unsure of my own abilities. When it came time to choose colleges, I chose to stay local and attend IPFW because I was not sure if I would be able to succeed at a big name university like Purdue or Ball State. And now, I find myself afraid to tell the girl that I am crazy about how I feel, not just because I am afraid it will ruin our friendship but, most of all, because I KNOW she doesn’t feel the same way about me.

All of these examples, from Little League to high school and beyond, are illustrations of my low self-confidence and my ability (or lack thereof) to take chances. And this lack of self-confidence stems from my own fear of the unknown.

What is it about us as humans that cause us to fear the unknown? If you think about it, we don’t know if we are going to live past today, yet we don’t lie around in fear because we don’t know if today is our last day. However, when it comes to matters of social recognition, career paths, and love, we suddenly morph into a fifth-grader plagued with sudden stage fright in the opening act of the school play.

The sad truth of the matter is, if we allow our fears to keep us from striving to obtain our goals or wants, we ultimately may never go where we want to in life. Sometimes in life, we have to take a chance and, hypothetically speaking, jump into the abyss of the unknown and find out what happens. We never know what life is going to throw at us, and we have to be ready when the opportunity presents itself, to suck in our fear and take a leap of faith. Because, as you grow older, you'll find the only things you regret are the things you didn't do, the words you didn't say, and the chances you didn't take.