We continue our Dadly Daily Declaration series with readings from The Passion Paradox by authors Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness. So far, Stulberg and Madness have discussed the pitfalls of passion and the sole focus of pursing your passion. Today’s reading focuses on passion rooted in fear.
Here are a few gems from today’s reading:
- Passion that is rooted in fear comes at quite a cost. And rarely, if ever, is it sustainable.
- As a long-term motivator, fear of failure quickly becomes toxic.
- David Conroy, a professor at the College of Health and Human Performance at Penn State, examined athletes like who were motivated by fear in a landmark study. He discovered five common drivers: Fear of shame and embarrassment. Fear of losing a positive self-image. Fear of an uncertain future. Fear of important others losing interest. Fear of upsetting important others.
- Conroy also learned that while each of these fears can be a strong motivator for a short while, none are sustainable.
- Shedding fear requires “having confidence in your knowledge, skills, and resources, as well as a belief in your ability to succeed and a constant hunger for improvement and growth,” according to Ashley Merryman, a talent development researcher.
- Fear can be a powerful short-term motivator, but in the long term, being driven by fear is unsustainable. Passions that are fueled by fear quickly become toxic.
- When we shed fear, we go from playing “not to lose” to playing to win. When we play to win, we take constructive risks that often lead to breakthroughs.
- Everyone has fears. Working to overcome them is often the key to sustainable passion, performance, and happiness.
Those gems lead us to today’s Dadly Daily Declaration:
It’s all about fear. If you kill fear, you win. If you kill fear, you have your best year ever. If you kill fear, you train like a mad man. If you kill fear, you go to college for free. If you kill fear, you stand on the podium, you get paid, you have strangers walk up to you and call you by name. When fear dies, you begin to live.
