Die with memories, not dreams.
A lot of people confuse being fearless with being brave but they are different. Brave people experience fear and act despite it, while fearless people have learned or managed not to fear what’s in front of them at all.
Being fearless isn’t necessarily a “full-time quality” like being smart or imaginative either. Many people are fearless in some regards but can be fearful in others – very few people are truly “without fear” and an argument can be made that this isn’t a good idea anyway. Fear is a useful emotion in some situations and fearlessness – in others. So, here are 5 qualities of people who are fearless you might want to adopt.
Embracing the unknown
A big component of fear isn’t just being afraid of something in particular but being afraid of not know what will happen. Many situations around us can be petrifying for no appearant reason but simply because we don’t know what might happen. Imagine you see a big red button somewhere – you don’t know what it’s for or even if it does anything. But you know that something might happen if you push it and that’s scary in and of itself.
Fearless people embrace those unknown possibilities and are ready to take responsibility for them.
Acceptance
Other times, we are perfectly aware of what can go wrong and how, and that can be scary as well. Whether it’s failing and harming yourself, losing something precious, or missing out on an opportunity, most things we do have the inherent risk of loss. Fearless people accept that possibility. They are aware of the chance for failure and chance for success, and they are aware of the ratio between the possible reward and possible punishment. And they accept that gamble.
The desire for a legacy
Fearless people are almost always driven by a desire for a legacy. It’s a fascinating and admirable quality even if it is a little ironic – for many overall fearless people, the one thing they fear the most is not leaving a mark on the world. “Going quietly into the night” (1) is often one of the few risks fearless people can’t accept.
Despising fear
“Despising” something may have a negative connotation to it but it can be a strong fuel for people. Fearless people are often that not only because they’ve chased away all fearful thoughts but because they actively despise fear itself. Many fearless people view fear as a sign of weakness. And they work all throughout their lives to make sure it doesn’t creep in their minds.
Determination
The last but possibly most important quality of people who are fearless is their determination. Fearless people have goals and dreams like the rest of us but they are much more determined to achieve them than most. For them “Die with memories, not dreams!” is often the driving moto of their lives.
Or, as the U.S. president Harry S. Truman used to say (2), “America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”
