Seek Your Fears

As humans, we spend more time talking ourselves into believing and expecting our fears than we do anticipating the boundless potential of an opportunity. No matter how positive and optimistic one may be, the human mind is still more likely to think ourselves out of happiness instead of thinking ourselves into it. Throughout my life, I have worked to apply the logic of the Roman philosopher Seneca into my daily decisions.

“Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: “Is this the condition that I feared?” — Seneca the Younger

I am far from the person to use ancient philosophy in a daily life and have never studied any portion of it. However, I cannot help but find that this quote rings truer and truer as years pass. We build up our biggest fears and worst case scenarios into something that is bigger than ourselves, something that is too grand to overcome or even face. We hand our fears a black cloak and scythe, patiently watch them turn into our nightmares and then shriek in horror.

To put it simply and plainly, if you seek your biggest fears out right from the start, you will find the anxiety and worry will dissipate. For example, you just landed your dream job in New York City and your experience with public transit has always been negative. Take a day and get as lost as possible. Take the wrong train and end up in the wrong place. At the end of the day, you will walk out alive.

I honestly believe that we often fail to forget that our fears aren’t fatal.Embarrassment, rejection, failure: all will pass and life will go on. Try to stash that thought in the back of your mind as you face everyday life. And if anybody ever asks, you can say that you learned it from a Roman philosopher. (If that’s not a conversation starter, I don’t know what is!)