Fear, gratitude and effort!
Fear is an interesting emotion. It constantly stops us from any form of risk. It pushes us to take safe paths. It's also something that, if absent, leads us to a state of denial that can lead us down a path of false confidence. Because what is fear? But our base instinct to minimise failure basis what our experience teaches us. We can go down the side of overt caution and never take a chance or swing towards ignorant confidence and denial towards action that will lead to a downward slide.
But, what if you've put in the effort and done the work. What if your fear stems from having no control after all the work has been done? What if this fear stems from your innate worry that the worst will happen no matter what you do. This kind of fear is a great leveller. It's a way to ensure those who've prepared don't feel a sense of overconfidence but rather a nervousness. Nervousness that all this effort will be in vain. The pinch of so many hours and days of effort being for nothing. Steven Pressfield, in his book "The war of art", puts it beautifully,
"The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The Real one is scared to death."
No effort brings no fear, but actual effort brings the fear of action wasted. The fear within the person who's done the work is a humbling reminder that the work is what counts, that no matter what we do, we might fail, but we just hope we don't. Because we are human, we can't help but feel disappointed if we do. But we can also blend satisfaction of effort instead of delusions of grandeur into it. It depends on how you channel the fear within you. I've felt this fear many times ( and still do since my book came out), but I write this with a melancholy sense of gratitude. Not because of the positivity coming my way but rather the feeling of work satisfaction finally settling in. Because at the end of the day, that's all that matters.
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(In case you haven’t or do decide to buy the book, check the link below)
👉🏽 https://amzn.to/3ou3I7f
Weekly Recommendations
Tons of podcasts this week.
A throwback to Megha Rao’s fabulous podcast “Poems to calm down to”
- The secret to happiness from Matthew Mcconaughey on “ feel better live more”
- An amazing chat between Tim ferris and Cal Newport
- I spoke to Vaani from Chal chitra talks on a bunch of stuff around books, process and beyond.
And my shows for the week,
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