Fear: Good or Bad

Fear is the reason why students are writing an essay for a class. Fear is the anxiety of receiving a failing mark to a final exam that we never show to our parents. Fear is the uneasiness that we feel when our parents learn about a stupid thing that could make them disappointed. Fear is the inability to walk to a dark corridor after watching a horror movie. Fear is the negative state of mind that hinders us from doing anything. These are how we usually describe fear, danger, and suffering, the feeling of uneasiness that overwhelms our body. Understanding the true nature of fear gives us purpose and motivation to do better.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, fear is “the emotion of pain or uneasiness caused by the sense of impending danger, or by the prospect of some possible evil.” This is a very exact definition of the fear whenever we describe it today. This definition somehow relates to phobia or anxiety, but these words are really far from the “true purpose” of fear. Although have we ever thought about what good fear does to us instead of just looking at the negative effects that it causes us?

Like the definition of fear, it makes us uncomfortable, it makes us worry about the future punishments that will come; the reason why we see fear as bad thing. It was back to school night in my high school, my parents were coming after an exhausting day at work. It was also the night when my parents were coming to school to pick up our grades and have a chance to talk with our teachers and advisors. I had this feeling before, and it was coming back again, fear. I ran to the main office and signed in, good thing the lady gave me my report card instead of giving it to my parents, and it was my only chance of hiding it, and I ...

... middle of paper ...

...nd prevent it. These two are preventable as long as we do not surrender to fear. By doing so, we will develop our guts; it is what makes us brave. We could not be brave if we do not first fear.

So is fear really a positive thing? I, myself, as a prime example, fear is what motivates me to do homework, keep me on track for a while and helping myself to do better. The fear that I see as a bad thing is not really bad. The “true purpose” of fear is to move us from the possible misfortune that could happen in our lives, to drive us to the things that we want to achieve. Our fear makes us survive from all of the bad things that happened and will happen. Lastly, as fear makes us care for ourselves, it also reminds us that we do not only fear for us but for our loved ones as well. The reason that gives us purpose and motivation to what we are doing is fear.