2 approaches to be fearless in any unforeseen or adverse situation
Approach 2 is ultimate!
Fear is part and parcel of life. It spares no one from the great kings with the comforts of servants to road side beggars surviving on alms from generous people. Fear is the biological program of life to avoid suffering. Unlike animals whose fear is to avoid physical pain, humans along with fear for physical pain also suffer mentally due to remorseful memory and vivid imagination. There are two possible approaches to overcome any fearless situation as given below:
- Logical approach : Collect as much data and consider the worst case scenario
For any situation one encounters, there always will be knowledge gap. Greater the knowledge gap, more will be the uncertainty in expected outcome and lesser the knowledge gap, less will be the uncertainty in expected outcome. Thus to reduce the knowledge gap one can strive to collect as much information about a situation after or before it unfolds and take decision after collecting maximum possible information. Also, consider the worst case scenario for the situation based on the collected information.
Several situation can happen that one can take time to arrive at a conclusion like making an educational or career choice or whether to be a bachelor and have freedom or marry and restrict oneself. Say for example, marriage is a life long commitment and those with wavering minds need to jot down what they can gain or lose from marriage before getting into it. It is better to weigh the pros and cons based on the collected information and then make the decision for each of the situation.
Suppose if the situation still carries some uncertainty like doing something new which no one has ever done, it is better to consider the worst case scenario. For example, if wanted to invest in a start up whose outcome is largely unknown, the worst case scenario would be losing all the money put to it. For this, one should make sure that one’s survival isn’t hampered due to the risk taken.
2. Spiritual approach: Practice detachment in life as no attachment is permanent in life.
There is an ancient saying that “ what is there to lose, when nothing actually stays “. We can notice that our awareness about ourselves happens only after few years upon birth, upon reaching middle age, we already would have forgotten most of the events happened before and upon old age we start to forget ourselves. In due course of our life, relationships, people and all our interactions changes and nothing stays.
We are very much attached to the gathered wealth and relationships in this life and are always fearful of how our actions could affect these. Accumulated wealth and relationships change over time showing their impermanent nature and getting attached to those which are impermanent only guarantees suffering as one has to leave behind everything one day. Time moves forward , so is life like a bullet fired from a gun, once fired can’t be taken back reaching the inevitable halt in the end.
The most important aspect of a detached life is to act with intend without taking pride in the outcome of our action seeing oneself as only a medium through which the act happens.