Fear/Hope

Appropriately, I was reading a piece by the classic social theorist Max Weber on politics when I came across a gem on an insight. In the middle of the lecture, Weber pointed out that people are motivated to act by either fear or hope. Fear of the consequences of disobedience, or hope in the possibilities of tomorrow. Weber was of course talking about politics, the state, and the ability to control people's behaviors, but I think the emotions of hope and fear are influential in any context.

As I've been thinking and preparing for the next forty days, I think it is important to meditate on the idea of fear and hope as powerful forces in daily life. I've been experiencing a little of both, though I think eagerness and anxiety would be the particular flavors I would pick to describe my own mix of emotions. I'm eager to find out what I'm really made of when I try to live every day as the kind of person I admire, but I am also anxious that if I fail, I will be deeply disappointed in myself and move towards cynical apathy. I am tempted to think that simply focusing on the hope of success and fulfillment is the one side of things I should focus on, but it seems that would be the same thing as putting blinders on and pretending some experiences aren't happening.

Perhaps fear should be the constant companion of hope, but not the debilitating kind. Being afraid to try something because you might fail can only lead to a metric ton of missed opportunities. Fear that you might miss out on life, that you will never know if you could be more, seems like a good companion for hope. I'd like to think that syncing the two towards a common goal of becoming a better person and genuinely engaging with the struggles of others can be a powerful weapon. I need to hope that what I do matters, that I can be about something greater than myself and my immediate concerns. With that comes a fear that this has no chance of coming true, but perhaps the more useful fear is that if I sit on my ass and accept that things never change, I will guarantee that they will never change.

Hope for joy, fear apathy. Perhaps that's the best way to begin living intentionally every day.