Question

As a writer, I can tell you that a big part of writing fiction is learning to predict how one event in a story will affect all the other events, and fear works in that same way. In fear, just like in fiction, one thing always leads to another. When I was writing my first novel, The Age Of Miracles, I spent months trying to figure out what would happen if the rotation of the Earth suddenly began to slow down. What would happen to our days? What would happen to our crops? What would happen to our minds? And then it was only later that I realized how very similar these questions were to the ones I used to ask myself as a child frightened in the night. If an earthquake strikes tonight, I used to worry, what will happen to our house? What will happen to my family? And the answer to those questions always took the form of a story. So if we think of our fears as more than just fears but as stories, we should think of ourselves as the authors of those stories. But just as importantly, we need to think of ourselves as the readers of our fears, and how we choose to read our fears can have a profound effect on our lives.

Now, some of us naturally read our fears more closely than others. I read about a study recently of successful entrepreneurs, and the author found that these people shared a habit that he called “productive paranoia,” which meant that these people, instead of dismissing their fears, these people read them closely, they studied them, and then they translated that fear into preparation and action. So that way, if their worst fears came true, their businesses were ready.

And sometimes, of course, our worst fears do come true. That’s one of the things that is so extraordinary about fear. Once in a while, our fears can predict the future. But we can’t possibly prepare for all of the fears that our imaginations concoct. So how can we tell the difference between the fears worth listening to and all the others? I think the end of the story of the whaleship Essex offers an illuminating, if tragic, example. After much deliberation, the men finally made a decision. Terrified of cannibals, they decided to forgo the closest islands and instead embarked on the longer and much more difficult route to South America. After more than two months at sea, the men ran out of food as they knew they might, and they were still quite far from land. When the last of the survivors were finally picked up by two passing ships, less than half of the men were left alive, and some of them had resorted to their own form of cannibalism. Herman Melville, who used this story as research for Moby Dick, wrote years later, and from dry land, quote, “All the sufferings of these miserable men of the Essex might in all human probability have been avoided had they, immediately after leaving the wreck, steered straight for Tahiti. But,” as Melville put it, “they dreaded cannibals.”

How does fear influence our actions?

Fear allows people to be more prepared and calm in the event of an emergency.

Fear encourages people to be paranoid and to act unreasonably.

Fear can encourage people to act cautiously as well as irrationally at times.

Fear discourages people from going outside of their comfort zones.

Answer 1

Fear profoundly influences our actions in various ways, and the responses can be both beneficial and detrimental. Here’s a deeper exploration of how fear affects our behavior:

1. **Preparedness and Calmness:** Fear can serve as a motivator for preparation. When we perceive a threat, our natural instinct is to take precautionary measures. This can lead to a heightened state of awareness and proactivity, allowing individuals to plan for emergencies and make informed decisions. For instance, someone who fears financial instability might save more money or invest in insurance policies, ultimately fostering a sense of security.

2. **Paranoia and Irrational Actions:** On the flip side, fear can lead to paranoid thinking and irrational behaviors. When fear overwhelms rationality, individuals may make decisions based more on emotional responses than on logic. This can manifest in avoidance behaviors, such as staying indoors during a storm out of a fear of an impending disaster, even when the situation may not warrant such actions. The infamous story of the whaleship Essex illustrates this point; the crew's irrational fear of cannibals led them to take an ill-fated decision that ultimately resulted in greater suffering.

3. **Caution and Risk Aversion:** Fear often encourages caution, prompting individuals to weigh potential risks more carefully. While this can lead to safer choices, it can also prevent people from engaging in new experiences or taking necessary risks. Fear of failure, rejection, or the unknown can deter individuals from pursuing opportunities that could lead to personal or professional growth, trapping them in their comfort zones.

4. **Discouragement of Growth:** Lastly, fear can act as a barrier to personal development. When individuals allow their fears to dictate their actions, they may miss out on life-changing opportunities. The reluctance to step outside one’s comfort zone due to fear can stifle creativity, innovation, and resilience. Those who consistently allow fear to govern their choices may find themselves stuck in a cycle of limitation.

Understanding these dynamics is crucial. By learning to interpret our fears constructively, we can harness their potential to prepare for challenges while avoiding the pitfalls of irrationality and excessive caution. Recognizing fear as both a natural human instinct and a storyteller of potential futures can empower us to navigate our lives with greater skill and awareness.