Free Living the Significant Life by Peter L. Hirsch, Robert Shemin Page B

life-threatening ones), choosing fear means choosing a life of unfulfilled goals and aspirations. This choice is the true enemy of happiness.
    Fear of What?
    The most common fear we human beings have is fear of the unknown. For some reason, we got it into our collective minds ages ago that we had to know what would happen before we took action. “Safety first” was drummed into us until it became fear of the unknown. Although this is the most common fear of all—probably the source of that other monster fear, the fear of dying—the following story may serve to rid you of this fear once and for all.
    A man was convicted of treason and sentenced to death by firing squad. As the drums rolled, the man faced his executioners. The commanding general announced, “Sir, you have a choice: you can accept your fate and die before this firing squad, or you can go through that black door over there.”
    He was given two hours to think about it.
    Two hours later, the man was returned to the prison yard, placed in front of the firing squad, his hands bound, and a blindfold placed over his eyes. The general then asked him, “What have you chosen?”
    The man replied, “I have no idea what I might face behind that black door. It could be a most terrible fate. I choose the firing squad.”
    The order was given and shots rang out. The man fell to the ground, dead.
    As the gunmen were leaving the prison, one turned to the general and asked, “Sir, what was behind that door?”
    The general, without expression, replied, “Freedom.”
    Risky Business
    Fear of the unknown comes from the desire to avoid risk. Very often, risk means anxiety. Did you know that the Chinese character that represents crisis is made up of two smaller characters? One means “risk” and the other means “opportunity.” To reduce anxiety, people avoid the unknown.
    Facing the unknown means accepting the challenge of the unknown, and to accept that challenge, we must have self-discipline and belief.
    Have you ever seen a James Bond movie? Secret agent 007 has a tendency to walk right into his enemy’s stronghold and confront the sinister villain (Goldfinger, Dr. No, and the others) face-to-face. It’s great! Bond has no idea what’s going to happen, but you can be sure that if he messes up, it’s going to be horrible. One time he was going to be fed to the sharks; another time, cut in half with a laser. But no matter—he always gets out of it. He keeps his cool. He is disciplined. He believes in himself—even when he has no idea what’s coming next.
    For too many people, self-discipline literally means self-punishment. What do we do with an out-of-control twelve-year-old boy headed for what used to be called juvenile delinquency? We send him to military school for some discipline—and that’s punishment.
    Discipline, however, comes from the word disciple, which means two very interesting things: a “follower” and a “learner.” Discipline comes from following and learning from someone or something. Self-discipline comes from learning about and following one’s own beliefs.
    People who follow their limiting beliefs by avoiding learning about the unknown are actually very disciplined. They never take chances. You see, discipline can be either strengthening or limiting. When you’re following a positive belief and purpose, discipline is actually a freeing and powerful concept, not a limiting one.
    Discipline is something we can all cultivate. A good synonym for discipline is integrity. It’s as simple as doing what you say you’re going to do—keeping your word. You can do that, especially with yourself, only when your belief is bigger than your fears.
    There’s another aspect of fear of the unknown that most people don’t consider, and that’s the fear of simply looking at things differently. We get so stuck in what we think we