I had a conversation yesterday about this idea.  We were talking about just the news of the week, and the comment that ended the conversation was Fear Sells.

I read this morning in Seth Godin’s blog, and he has written about Fear, scarcity and value.  He says that we avoid things that we fear.  If other people avoid those things, then no one is doing it.  Scarcity creates value – ergo – do what you fear.

As I was pondering these ideas about fear, I couldn’t help but think about the identity insight into it.  I realize that fear has an identity shaping property.  Fear shapes you.  Fear keeps you from doing things, and that isn’t always a bad thing.  It does prevent you from ever exploring that part of your self and your identity.  Fear keeps you from ever exploring more of you.

I like Seth’s idea of exploring that thing that no one else is exploring.  It keeps us from putting ourselves out there or creating that thing from within – because of fear.

You might fear failure, but not going after your fears will definitely ensure it.