Can We Dump Our FEARS?
Can We Dump Our FEARS? Tough task. Tough ask. That's a tough question, dude. WHY? Because there's a long list of fears and that list gets stretched if we include all the kinds of phobias. And you'll be surprised, just for the phobias, there is a 500-long list [as per the Phobia List Website]. So, we DON'T want to get waylaid into that mile-long list of phobias BUT instead focus on the three main fears namely, ABANDONMENT, FAILURE and DEATH. And we'll take all these up shortly but the quick ASK now. What triggers most our FEARs📗📙📘Allow me please to piggy-back on this cover by Jane Wong, a noted Chinese-American poet. And I'd like to give my 2-cents here and I firmly believe that the common trigger of our FEARS boils down to a 2-word thing spelled W-H-A-T I-F. WHAT IF I pursue that course and I fail to hurdle the State Board Exam? WHAT IF I immigrate but struggle to find a decent job there? WHAT IF I marry her and I end up with responsibilities way beyond my capacity? WHAT IF I accept that job offer but fail to 'deliver the goods'? WHAT IF I invest in stocks and I lose my investment instead? WHAT IF I buy myself a comprehensive medical insurance but I would hardly get sick, so how can I recoup my payments? WHAT IF I order online but the product is inferior!@#$?We can go on and on and do we agree that the common culprit [at least in the above examples] are all the WHAT IFs!@#$? So, how can we expect someone to really make a move and make a decision and execute that decision if he/she gets hampered with all these WHAT IFs. We're NOT making a 180-degree turn here and disown WHAT IFs because in a bit, I'll clarify as to when should we invoke WHAT IFs📌📌📌
So, before I get pounced, WHEN do we invoke WHAT IFs? It is when we are going through a FEASIBILITY or PLANNING exercise wherein we inject all the WHAT IFs. This is the appropriate perspective for the WHAT IFs as you go through that iteration cycle and come up with the best optimal option. BUT for us to invoke WHAT IFs each time we are in the middle of taking action or making a move, I'm afraid that will be akin to ANALYSIS PARALYSIS❎❎❎