Author: Sweety Vyas
We do not have to let our past experiences make us afraid.
Here’s how to emerge a winner.
It was March 1933 – and America was in the depths of the worst depression in its history. The economic life of the nation had slowed almost to a standstill. An estimated fifteen million men were unemployed, their families hungry and cold, many of them homeless. Banks were closing; factories were standing idle; people were in a state of anxiety verging on despair.
Against this background of national depression and fear, a new President was inaugurated on the fourth of March. Eagerly the nation awaited his address, his first message to the people. He knew there washardly a home in America that had not been affected by the depression to some degree, knew that fear held the nation in its demoralizing grip – that his first job was to restore public confidence and morale.
His voice rang out, firm and clear, reaching to the far limits of the crowd. This was no time for evasion, he told the people. This was a time to speak out boldly, to face the facts.
“This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”
There was an electric quality to his words, to his voice.
“We listened-some doubtfully,” said William O. Douglas. People who liked statistics said it was hardly a scientific plan for getting the country going again. But after a while it turned out that we were not afraid any more. And the wheels were starting to run again. President Roosevelt’s confidence had sort of reached around and got into the hearts of our people. “
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. These unforgettable words spoken by Franklin D. Roosevelt at his first inauguration, are words for all of us to remember in the crisis of our personal lives. For they have the power to bolster our inner resources, to keep us from giving way to terror or despair.
When the President lay dead in the White House in 1945, Mrs. Roosevelt asked that the famous phrase from his first inaugural be included in the simple funeral services. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. An inspired and inspiring phrase…an enduring testament to a great man’s faith in the nation and the people he served.
This story is directly from Light from Many Lamps from Lilian Eicher Watson. I have edited it for
conciseness, though its essence is the same. What I found motivating about this story is that the root of fear is our conditioning. Fear keeps us confined and caged. We are meant to be boundless and free. We need not run away from fear but face it. To get out of fear we have to change our mindset. Then everything great is possible…
This also reminded me of a story that I had read about the Baby Elephant Syndrome. An elephant trainer ties a baby elephant to a rope every night. Because it is the innate nature of elephants to roam around freely, the baby elephant tries to break free. He struggles and struggles, but cannot break the rope.
Eventually he reconciles to the fact that the rope is too strong and escape is impossible. Interestingly, when the elephant grows up, he can easily break away from the rope. However, the mighty elephant does not even try to escape. In his mind, it is futile to even try because of the lesson he learned when he was small.
Similarly, our mind is conditioned by prior experiences. Our paradigms become our shackles and we remain entrapped in them. It is our thoughts that keep us in captivity where we are – trapped and helpless.
When we look at fear in the face, we gain strength and confidence and eventually get the
capacity to overcome. By changing our perspective, enormous possibilities open up to us. Let us break free from the shackles of fear and achieve our true potential.
