Fear. Along with joy, sadness, and anger, it’s one of the primary emotions that affect our behavior. It was a boon for our ancestors in that it pumped enough adrenaline into their bodies to allow them to outrun the animals intent on eating them. But as we evolved from the cave to the cubicle, fear largely began to work against us.

Residing in the amygdala portion of our brains, fear is the reptilian response, as author Daniel Goleman calls it, that cautions us to slow down. Don’t make any decisions that might result in failure. Don’t move forward on an idea unless everybody agrees with you. Otherwise, you run the risk of someone, somewhere criticizing your vision. We cover our butts instead of doing the right thing.

Fear reminds us that it’s better to delegate, procrastinate, or defer to another day than risk failure. Regarding fear, the 19^th century physician and author Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. observed: “There is always danger for those who are afraid of it.” And perhaps former President Franklin D. Roosevelt said it best when he remarked: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

So how do we overcome our fear of fear? We put it in its place. We build a fence around it and resolve to ignore the warning signs and act on our hunches. We consciously choose to move beyond it. Yes, we will fail sometimes as a result. But think of the possibilities! I don’t know about you, but I suspect one of my last wishes on this Earth will be to wish that I’d taken more risks.

And by the way, if you’re interested, there is a new monthly e-zine that started up earlier this year called Fear.less, and I highly recommend it. The online publication is free and is chock full of interviews with interesting people and celebrities talking about how they overcame their fears. You can access the publication by going to their website at: www.fearlessstories.com.

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