What would you do if you weren't afraid?

[Gilrean Treebane]

[quote="Spencer Johnson, "Who Moved My Cheese?""]Haw became more anxious and wondered if he really wanted to go out into the Maze. He wrote a saying on the wall ahead of him and stared at it for some time: What would you do if you weren't afraid?
He thought about it.
He knew sometimes some fear can be good. When you are afraid things are going to get worse if you don't do something, it can prompt you into action. But it is not good when you are so afraid that it keeps you from doing anything.[/quote]

For summer reading we have to read this book called "Who moved my Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson. It's really quite good and this part struck me. What would you do if you weren't afraid? I know for me personally there's a lot in my life that would be different if I never held back because of fear of what people would think or fear of failing. I just thought I'd put it out there as something to think about. The book is really good and I urge you all to read it. It reads REALLY quickly and it's very simple but brings up some good points.

[Krasniy Yastreb]

If I wasn't afraid, I'd be dead. Simple answer perhaps, but the first that came to my mind.

[Erik Mortis]

Assuming that lack of fear didn't drive you to try something suicidal..hehe

Is it fear? Or just being aware of the consequences...?

[b3n|<3r|\|]

Do I still get embarrassed? If so, embarrassed, also unhappy.

@Erik: I tend to group that sort of thing like this: Fear (irrational) and reason. They can often lead to the same decision, but not all the time.

[Erik Mortis]

Right.. take away me fear of social situations and looking the fool... there would be no Shireroth. I would have had a more active social/dating life, and never have spent so much time online. I would proly party more, get laid more.... and possibly be involved in school government stuff.

[Gilrean Treebane]

I think not doing something because the consequences are harmful isn't really holding back 'cause of fear exactly. The way I was looking at it was more like being afraid to tell someone you liked them because you were afraid of rejection or holding back your true personality because you were afraid people wouldn't like you for it. That's kind of how I was thinking of it. Less of the obvious "well I'd go skydiving and bungee jumping and swimming with sharks."

[Krasniy Yastreb]

Okay in that case I wouldn't die, but I'd sure make an ass out of myself...

[Erik Mortis]

Are they different?

I fear the consequences in those situations. I figure that the risk is to great.

[Noemi_Vassiliais]

Oh sure, Gil, steal what I said. XD

Well... in that case... if I wasn't afraid I'd probably be more open about my sexuality. There are times when I seriously do hold back. Afraid of discrimination. I'd probably be a little more carefree. More likely to say the things that others wouldn't want to say because they're too ashamed. Like some how I was the only one to answer the question in which the answer was suicide in my drivers ed class today. Two questions came up in which the answer was the same and after pausing for a little while to see if any one else was going to speak, I rose my hand and answered. Though at drivers ed, I was afraid to point out that the seat belt can actually be the reason why you or some one else may die.

For instance, my uncle and his girlfriend were in the back seat of a car, his parents were driving. Long story short, they got into a crash and the girlfriend was flung out of the car with very little injuries... every one else died. She was the only one not wearing a seat belt. My family seems to have a lot of things like that... though I still wear my seat belt, my dad doesn't... he and I both believe that when it's your time to die, it's your time to die. Nothing is going to change that. Therefore, you shouldn't fear death, but instead welcome it when it comes. It's a dark way of looking at things, but it's better than fearing something that will eventually come.

[Malliki]

Noemi, where are you from IRL?

[Noemi_Vassiliais]

Same as Korey, Prodigy, Gilrean, and Lectriece... PA... why?

[Malliki]

Just curious where you all are from. If I wasn't afraid I would do a bungy jump. I'm afraid of heights, though.

[Noemi_Vassiliais]

Lol, I'm only slightly afraid of heights... I'd be more afraid that the bungee cord would break than any thing else. XD

[Gilrean Treebane]

I'm a bit afraid of heights but mainly just ones that don't have railings (like ladders I hate ladders)

[Erik Mortis]

I'm not afraid of my sexuality.. it more a matter of finding someone else equally not afraid of it...

[Noemi_Vassiliais]

^_^ Well... for GLBTs it's a little harder... Lectriece and I came up with the realization that if 15 percent of the country you live in is of an alternate sexuality (gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, pansexuality and so on) then in that 15 percent... lets say that about... 40% are homosexual, 50% consider themselves bi or are actually bi, 8% are transexuals and the rest are the other sexualities. Now in that amount of homosexuals... only about 45% are lesbians. The rest are gay men. So... looking at the US's population of... 301,139,947 (July 2007 est.):

about 45,170,992.05 people are of an alternate sexuality.
in that:

Homosexual: 18,068,396.82
~gay male: 9,937,618.251
~lesbian: 8,130,778.569
Bi: 22,585,496.025
Transexuals: 3,613,679.364
Other: 903,419.841

That is also not including when you factor in how many of those are children, teens, adults or elderly. A lot of them are not out of the closet, they are afraid... of being disowned, abused, killed, and more. This also leads to a higher rate of suicide in the GLBT communities than the heterosexual community. Some of the people who are of an alternate sexuality become homophobes, simply because they want to prove to themselves and most importantly... others... others that they are straight, "normal".

Yeah... I do spend a lot of time arguing with homophobes, which is one reason in which I know about this. lol

[Malliki]

Thank the gods we don't have that many homophobes here. Or, correction, that I don't know that many. Most people being homophobic here are so because of ignorance or that they think homosexuality is unnatural. I usually point out that it isn't. You very rarely hear religious arguments though.

[Noemi_Vassiliais]

I'm used to all kinds of feedback. Homophobes tend to be ignorant... and repetitive with no creativity. One guy actually went on and was like "you guys are so gay". Yeah... way to be creative in that statement. Religious statements I've heard the most... but the people who use them are obviously not a good follower of their religion. They tend to take scriptures out of context and morph them to better suit their prejudiced beliefs.

When they pull out religion and the fact that it's unnatural saying that "God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" I simply point out that their religion states that animals have no free will. There are many animals who are gay, and since they have no free will then obviously god wanted them to be gay. Then if that is the case, I'm sure the god described in your new testament would not make me a lesbian and then send me to hell for what he made me. If he does, then he is some sick god, not a loving god.

Lol, but if they are right then Hell would have to be split for those who are there for who they love, and those who really are bad.

[hypatias mom]

I am saddened any time I hear someone has been condemned for who they perceive themselves to be. This happens to many people who are perceived to be "different" than the conventional society is comfortable with.

I am not sure that people who approach anyone whose behavior they don't approve in a judgemental manner, have examined their own souls and hearts. I don't believe any one category of behavior or of beings is any more worthy of condemnation than any other. If someone is sinning, in any way, he/she needs a change of heart and then of behavior. To tell someone God hates them for who they are is wrong, and totally in error. It is always the behavior, if wrong, that would be a sin, and the person is still loved. God does not hate the people he created. He is just against behavior that takes them farther away from his glory. His love for all of us never changes.

[Kaiser Ayreon]

If I weren't afraid, I'd probably write something here...

[Erik Mortis]

nice one...


Shireroth does tend to be rather tolerant.. and those who aren't.. are beat to a pulp and chased out of the nation for their false and hateful beliefs....

[Aurangzeb Khan]

Oi, I've been false and hateful for years without even a trace of pulping, but then again I don't discriminate - I hate everything equally.

[Erik Mortis]

And so it's allowed!

[Aurangzeb Khan]

Anyway - if I wasn't afraid of the consequences I'd steal whatever took my fancy.

[Prodigy Almighty]

Instead, you just steal the small things no one will miss that take your fancy.

[Scott of Hyperborea]

Probably ask girls out more often. Other than that, there's not a whole lot I don't do because I'm afraid. Which is probably why I'm in Asia, finishing up a solo trip around the world right now.

...wait, I know! Write your teacher a long and angry letter saying exactly what I think of people who assign summer reading, especially when it's patronizing pop-psychology self-help books of zero educational value. Then look up all of my own ex-teachers in the phone book and write them something similar.

[Gilrean Treebane]

...wait, I know! Write your teacher a long and angry letter saying exactly what I think of people who assign summer reading, especially when it's patronizing pop-psychology self-help books of zero educational value.

Hey don't knock the book it was really very interesting and worth reading! It made a LOT of good points.

[Scott of Hyperborea]

Hey don't knock the book it was really very interesting and worth reading! It made a LOT of good points.

Then I suppose it's because of people who thought like that that during my time in school, I had to spend my beautiful summer vacations locked indoors, writing single-spaced footnoted book reports on self-help books with advice like "If you're unhappy, write a list of happy things, and then think about them" or "Write down all your goals on a big piece of paper, and then do them" while my teacher acted like we were poor savages who should be grateful for receiving the Secrets of the Universe. At least it was better than those books that were like "Don't drink and drive or use lots of drugs or have unprotected sex" and then we had class quizzes with questions like "True or false - you should drink and drive and use lots of drugs and have unprotected sex." And all the while I was desperately trying to sit in the corner and read something useful about something like physics or history, and my teachers were like "Put that away! This will save your life some day!"

...this is what happens when I get inadvertently reminded of my school days. I get all angsty and tearful.

[Oroigawa Koreyasu]

Psst! Gil! He's the guy with the livejournal! He's allowed to knock whatever the hell he wants! He gave us the secret of the Viking Dinner!

[Gilrean Treebane]

Really?! He's the guy who enlightened us to Viking Dinners?

my apologies sir, say whatever you wish!