Fear

Fear is an emotion that exists in every form of life. Insects, animals and even humans exhibit fear in specific conditions, circumstances or instances. Fear has been a major area of concern in religion, science and even history, whereby scholars seek to understand, justify and even provide a remedy to this emotion.

Fear can be an adaptive response. It prepares our bodies to flee danger, fear of real or imagined enemies binds people together, and fear of injury protects us from harm. Fear of retaliation constrains us from harming one another. People can be afraid of almost anything.
Psychologists, through their extensive study of learning, have come to the fascinating conclusion that we can learn to fear almost anything. Through conditioning the short list of naturally painful and frightening events can rise into a long list of possible human fears.

Fears can also arise through observation i.e. learning by observation. This means that the fears of our parents and friends can be transformed into our own fears.
Recent studies show that fear is hereditary. We humans are quick to learn and slowly unlearn to fear wild animals and natural phenomena- fears that probably helped our ancestors survive. We are less predisposed to fear cars, electricity and bombs, which in modern society are far more dangerous
( Lumsden & Wilson, 1983; Mc Nally, 1987 )
Some biological predisposed fears develop with little or no learning- Most people are horrified the first time they see a corpse or a mutilated human body.
Some people’s fears of specific things, such as heights, are greater than others. When fears of certain things or events surpass a certain level, they are referred to as phobias.
People who tend to thrive on risk make common and naturally occurring fears seem like child play. These individuals express no fear in the face of terrifying or blood curdling situations, occurrences or things. Instead, they manage to keep their cool. Astronauts, adventurers, con artists and killers are classic examples of fearless characters.
Experience could help shape fearlessness or fearfulness but so do our genes.

Fear is natural .It is also human to fear. Your fear could be your source of courage, but it could also be your worst nightmare. We should face our fears, embrace them and learn to live with them. Most importantly we should never give in to them instead we should strive to control them. After all, fear is a human emotion which should be treated as part of the biological composition that makes one a living being.


NOTES

1. “afraid of truth, afraid of fortune, afraid of death, and afraid of each other,” observed Ralph Waldo Emerson.
2. Dogs learn to fear neutral stimuli that have been associated with shock, infants can be conditioned to fear furry objects that are associated with frightening noises, and adults can become terrified of incidental stimuli linked with traumatic experience such as rape.
3. The Minnesota study of separated identical twins found that one twin’s level of fearfulness was similar to the others. ( Lykken, 1982)
4. “He who fears all snares falls into none.” Publilius Syrus, Sententiae, 43 B.C.

What kind of thinker are you?

Thinking is a mental process that goes on in our minds. Not only can our mind be credited for most of the body processes but most importantly it is also responsible for thinking. Thinking is invisible and most of the time unconscious. It is through a person’s decisions and actions that we get the by product of their thoughts. We all think differently hence our varying approaches towards similar problems. Scholars have classified thinkers into five classes: Synthesists, idealists, pragmatists, analysts and realists.

Synthesists are the kind of thinkers that are considered weirdoes. They seem like mental cases for their theories and philosophies. They like theorizing. These kind of people have different ways of looking at the truth and are ardent debators. They view arguments as fun.

Idealists are sort of perfectionists. They are good listeners and prize morality and integrity dearly. They do what is good for others and disapprove of themselves for failing to meet their own high expectations. They are usually concerned about the future and their plans and goals are usually based on the future.

Pragmatists are the kind of guys that are often referred to as
‘happy go luckies ’. These individuals have a positive and lively view of life. They take a day at a time and avoid the “unnecessary” baggage of having to plan. These are great compromisers and are flexible enough to adapt to any situation. They are spontaneous and are "look on the bright side kind of guys". Pragmatists can handle tasks that appear otherwise impossible provided they don’t face any negative criticism.

Analysts are somewhat conservative. They are the kind of guys that attribute reason behind every action. They only see one way of doing things and usually abandon their fixation on an idea in the face of the next best thing. Analysts are concrete thinkers who hate praise. In fact they like to think about things and for them efficiency equals competence- the kind of guys who never leave their accounts unbalanced.

Realists see themselves as being realistic. They believe what they see and work with stone cold facts. Compromise, synthesis, idealism or soft ways of dealing with the world don’t auger well with them. Planning is not their strong suit and they sort of dive into things without pre-consideration.

Learning of the different kinds of thinkers goes a long way in helping us deal with them. Since synthesists view arguments as fun, it would be wise to indulge them but not to loose your grip on the real world. Try taking no offense at the tendency of idealists to expect much from you. Do not plan ahead or strategise about the future with pragmatists and take no mind when an analyst thoroughly scrutinizes your ideas. Last but not least, always have your facts when standing up against a realist.

Whatever thinker you are, you are no less than the others. However, it’s good to determine your category and seek out activities or careers and interests in line with your kind of thinking. What’s more, it doesn’t hurt to try other thinking trends, it could prove to be a worthy experience.