“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.”


Late nights spent in bed with Breaking Bad, eyes glued to screen instead of shut have got me thinking about this concept of fear - or rather a lack thereof. This fear (+ the everyday constraints that inevitably accompany it) is taken out of the equation when probable death enters it in the form of a late-stage cancer prognosis for BB protagonist (or antagonist, depending on your world view), Walter White. Only lack of such apprehension could have the potential to transform an every-day family man into a ruthless “kingpin of the drug-trade”; manufacturer of the purest crystal methamphetamine on the street.

At best, fear is what helps us to deal with and to prepare for the various threats that life loves to throw our way; it acts as our very own survival aid. But as with everything in life, moderation is key and too much of a good thing is always bad. If present in high doses and in the absence of any actual external threats, this toxic form of fear has the ability to manifest itself into a self-limiting form that is more unnecessary worrying than real fear. 

We don’t all aspire to become mega meth-making machines, but whatever desires our hearts hold, one thing is certain; allow too much fear into the picture, and we will never know what it feels like to truly be alive and free. And really, what is a life that is anything but?

Often the fear of failure is worse than the failure itself. We would only realise this if we allowed ourselves to be free of this illusory prison of perpetual worry that fear has us confined in.

Maybe time to take a leaf out of Mr. White’s equations-filled pages:

“I have spent my whole life scared. Frightened of things that could happen, might happen, might not happen. Fifty years I spent like that. Finding myself awake at three in the morning, but you know what? Ever since my diagnosis, I sleep just fine. I came to realise its that fear, that’s the worst of it. That’s the real enemy. So get up. Get out in the real world – and you kick that bastard as hard as you can right in the teeth.”

2012, make it a year without fear.