0 Living Fearlessly

Are we conquered by fear?

Published in The Edinboro Spectator: Feb. 7, 2013

A few months ago, I was watching a trailer for Will Smith’s new movie, After Earth, when I heard something that stuck in my head ever since. In the trailer, it is shown that Smith’s son, Jaden Smith’s character, who plays his son in movie as well, faces the insurmountable task of surviving in a post-apocalyptic world ruled by hostile animals.

In the trailer, Smith gives his son some sound advice, he stated, “Danger is real, fear is a choice.” Needless to say, for me, that line was thought-provoking.I began to think about the power of fear and the limitations which fear puts on us. Then, I began to examine major human fears, including my own. I realized that we live with many fears; the fear of standing out, the fear of taking risks, the fear of the unknown and the fear of harm.

But what many people fail to realize is that our fears often inhibit us from reaching our fullest potential and last month this idea of the power of fearlessness became solidified in my mind.

Last month we celebrated Martin Luther King Day, and for the entire day I thought about how fearless of a man Dr. King was. Many people believe Martin Luther King was just a universally loved leader who only faced opposition from Southern segregationists.

But what most people don’t know is that Martin Luther King was vilified for most of his life, especially in his later years. His unconventional views and his power as a leader caused many people to see him as troublemaker. He faced death threats, assassination attempts and even was harassed by government agencies. He sacrificed his relationship with his family, his reputation and eventually, his life. However that didn’t stop him from speaking against injustice.

Reflecting on King’s life, I thought to myself, “What right to I have to give in to fear?”

Last semester, I had to ask myself that question.

As a young kid, I always had an interest in the performing arts, specifically acting. My mother often reflects on how I wanted to be on the show Barney as a 3-year old. 

But as I got older something happened to me, fear began to take over. When I got to high school, in the back of my mind, I wanted to participate in the theatre club but was afraid to because I didn’t want to be associated with a group of what many people saw as “weirdos”.

I wanted to fit in, I didn’t want to be different. I feared standing out. Then, my fear grew deeper, I began to question if I was even talented enough to act. But as I went through college, I began to notice that the more I began to take risks and do things I was afraid of, like public speaking (believe it or not), the more benefits I reaped.

Then, I began to regret missing out on many potentially remarkable experiences in my past because of my fear. I made a vow to myself to never allow fear ever stop me from doing reaching my goals. In fact, I began to use fear to motivate me.

Fast forward to last fall semester, I found out about auditions for a play on campus. With one more semester of grad school left, I told myself, “Forget fear, this is my last chance”, and I auditioned, expecting to get a minor role if anything.

The next day, I found out I had been cast in the play. The day after that, I found out I got the lead role.

I thought to myself, “Why didn't do this sooner?”

The Cast of my 1st show, It's A Wonderful Lie... Notice Drunk Santa on the bottom left.

My point Is that we all face fears, whether you’re taking a stand like Dr. King, taking a difficult class, mustering  up the courage to approach that person you've had your eye on for a while, forgiving someone, or just stepping out of your comfort zone.

Now don’t get me wrong and confuse fearlessness with carelessness or recklessness. I’m not telling anyone to flip out on their boss or do anything crazy. With fearlessness comes responsibility. 

Fearlessness isn’t about not caring; it’s about caring enough to take the right risks.

Hopefully we will all someday learn to take the right risks and choose to use fear to our advantage. After all, we can’t learn to fly until we’ve conquered our fear of falling.