Right now, I’m scared of 150 different things. I’m scared something bad might happen to my fiancée, my parents, or my sister. I’m scared of something bad happening to me. What if I die before writing a great book, or any other book, for that matter?
I’m scared I won’t finish my next big project at work on time. Or the one after that, which also already has a deadline looming ahead. I’m scared my accountant won’t finish my tax return in time, that I won’t make enough to cover my website’s costs next year, and that no one might buy the Pokémon cards I’ve listed on a marketplace.
I’m scared to travel to Berlin next month for work, and I’m scared my investments will never go up. I’m scared my dishwasher will break again—this time without recovering—and I’m scared someone might steal o…
Right now, I’m scared of 150 different things. I’m scared something bad might happen to my fiancée, my parents, or my sister. I’m scared of something bad happening to me. What if I die before writing a great book, or any other book, for that matter?
I’m scared I won’t finish my next big project at work on time. Or the one after that, which also already has a deadline looming ahead. I’m scared my accountant won’t finish my tax return in time, that I won’t make enough to cover my website’s costs next year, and that no one might buy the Pokémon cards I’ve listed on a marketplace.
I’m scared to travel to Berlin next month for work, and I’m scared my investments will never go up. I’m scared my dishwasher will break again—this time without recovering—and I’m scared someone might steal our garden furniture or lawn mower. I could keep going.
Of course, these are all fears in different degrees. They pop up at varying times and mostly individually. But they’re all present enough for me to feel them out and list them right now—and those are just the fears I can pull out and see. Who knows what might lie beneath the surface.
And yet, for all those fears, I’m still here. Still writing. Still going to work. Still taking risks.
Life can be one long tunnel of horror if you let it. We’re all scared, all the time. The question is will you board the next ride regardless? Will you continue to hope for better against the odds? That’s what it comes down to: Always scared, never stopping.
I could think of worse mottos.
Nik
Niklas Göke writes for dreamers, doers, and unbroken optimists. A self-taught writer with more than a decade of experience, Nik has published over 2,000 articles. His work has attracted tens of millions of readers and been featured in places like Business Insider, CNBC, Lifehacker, and many others. Nik has self-published 2 books thus far, most recently 2-Minute Pep Talks. Outside of his day job and daily blog, Nik loves reading, video games, and pizza, which he eats plenty a slice of in Munich, Germany, where he resides.