With everything that has been happening in our country lately, it is no wonder that some people avoid watching the news. There truly seems to be more tragedy than good happening in the world--people getting killed, kidnappers snatching people’s kids in broad daylight, ISIS attacks, and the list goes on. This can all be very overwhelming. However, we must not fear.

The first thing to understand about fear is that it is not reality, it is created in the mind. If you think about something you are afraid of, you will realize that your fear of it is connected to your instinct to avoid getting hurt. So, if you are afraid of heights like I am, it is not the actual height that you fear. In reality, heights are a great, as they offer grander views than we normally experience. So if you fear heights, it is not because of the height itself, but that you fear falling and getting hurt.

Fear can be crippling, toxic, and deadly. Think about what fear does to you in a tricky or scary situation. It causes you to panic, which warps your mind so that you can no longer think straight enough to save yourself from the situation.

When you are in an emergency situation, it is the most crucial time in which you need your mind to function rationally for you if you intend to survive. Fear takes all that away from you the moment you panic. You could be the highest level of Boy Scout and lose all your skills in an instant by panicking out of fear.

A spirit of fear is just as dangerous. I define a spirit of fear as a tendency to allow past occurrences or predicted dangers to affect your whole life, and specifically your decision-making.

Fear of failure is a common spirit of fear that many people carry, and this definitely hinders on many levels. Many people sadly miss out on great relationships because they fear the rejection of the other individual enough to let it prevent them from approaching the person and initiating conversation. Likewise, many miss out on job opportunities and potentially successful ventures because they fear that it will not work out.

This spirit of fear is also crippling and toxic because it hinders a person from living a fulfilling life. For example, some now fear travel by plane because they fear that it will be attacked by hijackers or go missing, like the Malaysia airline flight. Others now fear being in popular cities because of past attacks by Jihadists. While we definitely need to take certain precautions in order to preserve our lives and the lives of others, we cannot let fear determine our every move.

We must not give in to fear, especially based on what we see happening around us because that is exactly what enemies desire. Those who intentionally hurt people get a high from seeing the fear they can inflict upon others. Let us not give them such pleasure.

Let us venture to be bold, and live a life of fulfillment.