Fear This
If Franklin Roosevelt was right when he said, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself", then we have a lot to be afraid of. It was easy for him to say, sitting in the White House , drawing a nice salary during the Depression and being in charge of the free world and all. The wheelchair notwithstanding, the level of fear he may have felt paled in comparison to the level being felt by people who couldn't rustle up three cents to buy bread. That was 73 years ago, and we are still in fear. Granted, the fear is different than the fear we feel now, but if "fear itself" is the enemy, then perhaps the specifics don't matter? Fear itself can also be a great motivator, so we shouldn't underestimate its value. Fear can be a useless emotion (closely related to guilt ) or it can be the fuel that feeds the ego. Whatever it is, it may be, in addition to desire, the single biggest influence on our lives - both negatively and positively. If we can make fear work ...