Zero to 1: Why are we so Anxious? Our Ultimate Fear and How to Address your Fears Template
Exploring the Human Condition
3 INSIGHTS
I.
Today’s world has more food, better living conditions and is safer then any age before it. Yet we feel more anxious then ever before.
II.
Anxiety is a marker for danger, it let’s us know that there is danger nearby and danger is a marker for injury and ultimately death. Our fear of anxiety is ultimately tied to our fear of death.
III.
When we ignore our fears, anxieties and demons, they go to the pit of our soul and workout.
4 QUOTES
I.
"The idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing else; it is a mainspring of human activity—activity designed largely to avoid the fatality of death, to overcome it by denying in some way that it is the final destiny for man." — Ernest Becker
Becker gets straight to the point, not only are we afraid of death like nothing else, but also that is motivates us avoid it at all costs and this avoidance includes thinking about it, talking about it, and so we deny this topic and push it away.
II.
"Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways." Sigmund Freud
Here Freud reminds us that there is no hiding. One way or another, it will come out and more often then not, it’s already expressing itself in ways we are unaware.
III.
"Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. It is often the case that a man is possessed by his shadow more than by himself." Carl Jung
Our fear of death comes out through our anxiety, our fears, through our boredom, apathy and lack of interest in life. These emotions color our perceptions and guide our life.
IV.
"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate." Carl Jung
HOW TO ADDRESS YOUR FEARS
Have you ever noticed subtle fears and anxiety stopping you from moving forward?
Sometimes it can be difficult to address these feelings when they are subtle.
A great place to start is in situations where fear is holding you back from moving towards things you value.
One of the best ways to address this, is via Tim Ferriss’s Fear Setting Exercise.
To make this super simple, here is a Notion Template of Tim Ferriss’s Fear Setting.
Give it a shot and I hope you get the most out of it.