“If you read the Vedas, you will find this word always repeated – ‘fearlessness’ – fear nothing. Fear is a sign of weakness. A man must go about his duties without taking notice of the sneers and the ridicule of the world.”
— Swami Vivekananda
How should I overcome my fear of trying something new? This question plagues most of us. Let’s look at what really happens when we experience this.
Homeostasis is a state of equilibrium. Your body remains healthy when it resists sudden change – imagine what would happen if your temperature or blood pressure rose or fell by 10 percent at the drop of a hat!
This phenomenon occurs in social conditions also. Each time you want to explore the boundaries of the status quo, each time you want to try an approach that’s not conventional, your family, friends, and co-workers resist. As George Leonard wrote in Mastery, “An entire system has to change when any part of it changes. So don’t be surprised if some of the people you love start covertly or overtly undermining your self improvement. . . . It’s just homeostasis at work.”
So you see? People say what they say because they don’t want to leave their comfort zone, which means their opinions are nothing to be afraid of. If anything, fear occupies the place in your mind that should be occupied by productive thoughts.
Fear weakens you, drags you down, and eventually fills you with regret for not doing what you should have done. But when you take action, you realize that your worst fears never come true, and your fear abates. And when you work fearlessly, you can move mountains.