Life is governed by fear. If you think your life isn’t governed by fear then you are out of touch with your reasons for doing things. Fear and love (which is partly just a fear of losing someone’s love) are the only true motivating forces in a person’s life.

Fear of failure. Fear of success. Fear of hurting someone. Fear of not being able to pay your bills. Fear of making a mistake you can’t take back, can’t fix, can’t remedy. Fear of losing your job. Fear of spending too much time in a job you hate. Fear of disappointing those around you. Fear of disappointing yourself.

Fear, in one form or another, is at the base of every decision you make. If you accept this, if you realize the truth if this statement, then you can start figuring out what fears to pay attention to and what fears to drop in the dust like the dirty rags that they actually are.

Some fears are good. You should be afraid of seriously injuring yourself. You should be afraid of going to jail.

You should not be afraid of making a mistake that won’t result in death or jail. If the consequence of your mistake is possibly being happier, even if you have less money or people judge you for it…then what are you really afraid of?

How much do you let fear of something you shouldn’t be afraid of hold you back? How much do you hesitate when making a decision because you’re putting more stock in fear of failure than in what you actually want? How often do you bite your tongue, tell a lie, or nod your head in false agreement because you’re afraid of what might happen if you speak your mind?

We are taught to be afraid. Society teaches us to be afraid of basically everything. Do you have a fear of not being attractive even though it isn’t really important? Do you have a fear of not having a job that other people consider professional or successful? Do you have a fear of being called a bitch just because you’re a woman with opinions? Congratulations, you were raised in America.

But just because you’re taught to have these fears doesn’t mean you’re forced to live with them forever. I’ll let you in on a little secret: most of these fears are total bullshit.

You can keep making excuses for letting fear rule your life or you can start to use logic, reason, and a sound understanding of what you really want to get over that fear. Next time you hesitate, next time you are trying to make a decision, ask yourself if it’s a valid fear that’s governing your actions. Can you trace the origin of that fear? Is it something that’s happened to you in the past, is it a legitimate concern, or is it maybe something that’s been drilled into your head by your family, friends, and every commercial you see on television? Are the consequences of taking a leap in a new direction really that dire?

Fear is what you let it become.