Anxiety or Fear?
A wise man once defined both with a simple example which was.
Fear can be exemplified as a person walking on a path that is in complete darkness knowing that there is a large snake prowling the place ready to attack at any time, anxiety is when you feel the fear even knowing that the snake is not physically there, but the mere fact of imagining it and that something can happen create in the person psychological, emotional and even physical consequences as real as if it were.
It should be noted that any human emotion that is perceived as "negative" being properly channeled can be of great benefit to the personal development of those who carry both on a daily basis, this is directed to those people who feel that both sensations are a constant mark in their daily lives. Both fear and anxiety can be divided into two groups (this under a personal point of view), these are the rational and irrational groups.
Rational fear is necessary to know that something is not going well and that there is a real problem in front of us that can be compared to a big step to overcome, to ascend to a higher level in life and this will require the development of a virtue called "courage", we must remember that courage does not mean lack of fear, but to face the problem even when it is present in such a real way that you can even feel your body trembling in front of the challenges. And only overcoming fear guarantees that the results will be more gratifying than they would normally be.
Only by overcoming fear will you be able to start that business you long for, start that college degree you have longed for, apply for that dream job in the company you have wanted to be part of since you were young, by overcoming it you will be able to talk face to face with the person you love and ask her for a chance to be part of her life as well as her of yours in order to face the challenges ahead together, only by overcoming it will you be able to grow and be part of the small group that did try despite the circumstances and conditions they were in, only by facing it will you be able to be happy.
Irrational fear is that which is capable of depriving you of trying what your heart desires, is that wall that is shown as impenetrable, that mountain that proves impossible to climb, irrational fear is often accompanied by pessimism and negativity, is that which adds many other obstacles and paradigms that prevent your happiness, is that which each and every one of us has suffered at least once (or many), and is a common factor in those who are influenced by comments from people whose vision for the future is null and limited.
Fun fact: The phrase "do not be afraid" is written 365 times in the bible, isn't it a beautiful thing?
Rational anxiety is the one that leads you to the occupation, many times it is presented as a "warning signal" for events that will occur in the future either this near or distant, it is that instinct that awakens our consciousness to leave the "comfort zone" in which we are stuck and take action to work for our dreams and anticipate disasters, is that one that somehow wears logic and leads us to wisdom, because very well says a phrase very well known in my country: "forewarned war does not kill a soldier, and if it kills him, it is because he is careless", therefore, blessed be the anxiety that leads us to improve.
Rational anxiety is the one that alerts us very often with phrases such as "Next week I have an important exam, I must study from today to get a good grade", or "In the labor field it is important to have knowledge about other languages, I must study them to master them and thus be open to more opportunities" or "At some point I will have visitors, I must keep the house clean and tidy in case that happens".
On the other hand, irrational anxiety is the one that does not allow us to sleep, it has the ability to steal our sleep and deprive us of a good night's rest, this is presented as the "imaginary snake" described in the example at the beginning, it does not allow us to evaluate our present, or enjoy the things we have, on the contrary to the rational anxiety this one manages to somehow stagnate us in our fears and worries imagining the worst possible scenarios in the future, and it is the one that precedes to emotional, psychological problems (physical which in many cases require professional help).
Note: Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not worry about anything. But pray and ask God for whatever you need, and be thankful, so that God will give you his peace, that peace which the people of this world cannot understand, but which protects the heart and the understanding..."
To conclude, we have to say that when emotions are correctly channeled, they provide the capacity to overcome them.
