Fear, Regret and Hope
More and more I seem to be running into situations where what I would like myself to do is different from what I would like to be doing. Or better put, I find myself in situations where I want to be someone who acts differently, and more often than not find myself not acting at all. I've always maintained that making decisions is simple... as long as you can be courageous enough to accept whatever decision you make and then move on. There is no looking back. There are no what ifs and there are no regrets.
But is that really possible? There always are what-ifs and there always are situations in which we choose the path that life takes. Even though the Gita talks about Karma and not actually worrying about the result; what I don't get is, how do you choose what Karma you do without considering the results? In some cases it may be possible to just do what is right, what is ethical and what is moral, but what about all those cases when things are not so clear. Do you not consider the outcome of the alternatives before coming to a decision? Is it wrong to consider the outcome?
Big questions, but lets bring it down to basics. Fear plays an important part in our lives. At every stage there is fear of being ashamed, embarassed, fear of falling from grace so to speak, fear of the unknown and fear of rejection. I'm not sure how some people have the gall to do things with an air on nonchalance. Sometimes I wish I could. Sometimes I wish I could genuinely be more impulsive enough to not consider the outcomes, or better said, not be as risk averse. There is always a risk. But there are some of us who let the fear of taking a risk take precedence over taking a chance. Sounds really odd as an entrepreneur to be saying this, but I guess I will bolster that statement by saying that risk comes in different shapes sizes and forms. And some of us may be more comfortable taking risks of different kinds....
I would be hypocritical if I do not point out that one of the quptes I think of nearly every day is that 'You miss 100% of the shots you do not take;' i.e. there is not chance of succeeding if you just don't try right? Logical. Yes. Completely. But does it being logical make it completely trivial to imbibe in out daily actions. I think not. Because as a human, the fear doesn't go away. And that fear of failure often causes us to not take the steps which would be essential for ensuring even a modicum of success.
And then there is regret. Fear causes us to not take a chance and then regret comes along and makes it worse. Because hindsight is 20/20. Because I can sit here and write about regret. The regret which comes immediately after the fear prevents you from taking a chance. Because you know, that you had your chance, and you blew it and you don't know if the same chance will come your way ever again.
In one of the books I read recently (probably one by Irvin Yalom) the character of Neitzsche says something along the lines that when Pandora's box was opened, there was one final evil which did not come out -- Hope. Hope is that evil which come after regret. Hope that things change and somewhat magically become better... or that opportunity which you regret blowing because of fear re-presents itself for a second chance. But do things change on their own? Or does every change require an agent for the change. A protagonist who causes change.
This is something that I've thought about for a long time with conflicting thoughts... from the time that I read the conflicting statements in my years of learning Sanskrit. On one hand there is Thad yatha bhavitavyam, thad bhavatu and on the otherhand there is Nayamatma balheenein labhya. On one hand there is the emphasis on doing and the importance of action and on the other hand there are innumerable independent variables which we cannot control.
Logically, I would think that hope stems from the independent variables. And action determines what happens with those variables we can control.
Anyhow, to make a long story short, at this time I think it may be better to attack the fear. To eliminate regret by overcoming fear; or at least acknowledging the existence of fear and evaluating the root of the fear. Is the outcome really that bad. What do you/I really have to lose? More power to those who can do that and for myself... the lesson of the day is definitely.... Carpe Diem.
:note to self. Mad Mex. H.
But is that really possible? There always are what-ifs and there always are situations in which we choose the path that life takes. Even though the Gita talks about Karma and not actually worrying about the result; what I don't get is, how do you choose what Karma you do without considering the results? In some cases it may be possible to just do what is right, what is ethical and what is moral, but what about all those cases when things are not so clear. Do you not consider the outcome of the alternatives before coming to a decision? Is it wrong to consider the outcome?
Big questions, but lets bring it down to basics. Fear plays an important part in our lives. At every stage there is fear of being ashamed, embarassed, fear of falling from grace so to speak, fear of the unknown and fear of rejection. I'm not sure how some people have the gall to do things with an air on nonchalance. Sometimes I wish I could. Sometimes I wish I could genuinely be more impulsive enough to not consider the outcomes, or better said, not be as risk averse. There is always a risk. But there are some of us who let the fear of taking a risk take precedence over taking a chance. Sounds really odd as an entrepreneur to be saying this, but I guess I will bolster that statement by saying that risk comes in different shapes sizes and forms. And some of us may be more comfortable taking risks of different kinds....
I would be hypocritical if I do not point out that one of the quptes I think of nearly every day is that 'You miss 100% of the shots you do not take;' i.e. there is not chance of succeeding if you just don't try right? Logical. Yes. Completely. But does it being logical make it completely trivial to imbibe in out daily actions. I think not. Because as a human, the fear doesn't go away. And that fear of failure often causes us to not take the steps which would be essential for ensuring even a modicum of success.
And then there is regret. Fear causes us to not take a chance and then regret comes along and makes it worse. Because hindsight is 20/20. Because I can sit here and write about regret. The regret which comes immediately after the fear prevents you from taking a chance. Because you know, that you had your chance, and you blew it and you don't know if the same chance will come your way ever again.
In one of the books I read recently (probably one by Irvin Yalom) the character of Neitzsche says something along the lines that when Pandora's box was opened, there was one final evil which did not come out -- Hope. Hope is that evil which come after regret. Hope that things change and somewhat magically become better... or that opportunity which you regret blowing because of fear re-presents itself for a second chance. But do things change on their own? Or does every change require an agent for the change. A protagonist who causes change.
This is something that I've thought about for a long time with conflicting thoughts... from the time that I read the conflicting statements in my years of learning Sanskrit. On one hand there is Thad yatha bhavitavyam, thad bhavatu and on the otherhand there is Nayamatma balheenein labhya. On one hand there is the emphasis on doing and the importance of action and on the other hand there are innumerable independent variables which we cannot control.
Logically, I would think that hope stems from the independent variables. And action determines what happens with those variables we can control.
Anyhow, to make a long story short, at this time I think it may be better to attack the fear. To eliminate regret by overcoming fear; or at least acknowledging the existence of fear and evaluating the root of the fear. Is the outcome really that bad. What do you/I really have to lose? More power to those who can do that and for myself... the lesson of the day is definitely.... Carpe Diem.
:note to self. Mad Mex. H.
posted by sneaker @ 9:33 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home