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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.
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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.
Answers
Answered by
GPT-4o mini
Fear influences our actions in various ways, often leading to a complex interplay of preparation, caution, and even irrationality. Here’s a breakdown of these influences:
1. **Preparation and Calmness**: Fear can motivate individuals to prepare for potential threats or emergencies. This productive use of fear can lead to careful planning and action that mitigates risks, promoting a sense of calmness in the face of danger.
2. **Paranoia and Irrationality**: Conversely, fear can also lead to a state of paranoia, making individuals overly cautious or reactive. This can result in decisions driven more by fear than by rational thought, potentially leading to avoidance of situations that bear little real risk.
3. **Caution vs. Risk-Taking**: Fear encourages caution, helping people weigh the consequences of their actions and consider potential dangers. However, it can also lead to irrational behavior, such as avoiding opportunities that could be beneficial due to an exaggerated sense of danger.
4. **Comfort Zones**: Fear often discourages individuals from stepping outside their comfort zones. It might prevent them from taking risks or pursuing new experiences due to the anxiety associated with the unknown, thereby limiting personal growth and potential.
In summary, fear is a powerful driver of behavior, influencing us to prepare, act cautiously, or sometimes act irrationally, shaping our choices and ultimately affecting our lives significantly. How we interpret and respond to our fears can determine whether they serve as obstacles or motivators in our journey.
1. **Preparation and Calmness**: Fear can motivate individuals to prepare for potential threats or emergencies. This productive use of fear can lead to careful planning and action that mitigates risks, promoting a sense of calmness in the face of danger.
2. **Paranoia and Irrationality**: Conversely, fear can also lead to a state of paranoia, making individuals overly cautious or reactive. This can result in decisions driven more by fear than by rational thought, potentially leading to avoidance of situations that bear little real risk.
3. **Caution vs. Risk-Taking**: Fear encourages caution, helping people weigh the consequences of their actions and consider potential dangers. However, it can also lead to irrational behavior, such as avoiding opportunities that could be beneficial due to an exaggerated sense of danger.
4. **Comfort Zones**: Fear often discourages individuals from stepping outside their comfort zones. It might prevent them from taking risks or pursuing new experiences due to the anxiety associated with the unknown, thereby limiting personal growth and potential.
In summary, fear is a powerful driver of behavior, influencing us to prepare, act cautiously, or sometimes act irrationally, shaping our choices and ultimately affecting our lives significantly. How we interpret and respond to our fears can determine whether they serve as obstacles or motivators in our journey.
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