Fear vs. Happiness

Fear has always been a part of our lives. Fear of others – of a different race, religion, social class, or nationality. Across a wide swath of countries, many would say that nationalism, racism, homophobia, religion, and intolerance are on the upswing as people seek easy solutions to their fears.

One has only to look at voting patterns in many countries – from Poland to France, Holland to Hungary, the United Kingdom and the United States, to see how fear may be motivating voters and challenging democratic institutions. 

But racism, nationalism, religious fanaticism, homophobia and intolerance are learned from an early age from our parents, our peers, our educators, and our leaders. 

Social media today is blamed for wide spreading fear. Indeed, a tweet or comment on social media can lead to widespread belief in what is being said even if it isn’t truthful or accurate. Yet – fear has always existed. It stems from a lack of understanding of the other. A lack of empathy. A lack of happiness. A lack of experience, knowledge and self-awareness which, together are components of wisdom.

Wisdom is knowledge plus empathy plus judgment. Not everyone is born with these qualities, but they can be developed. 

Fear prevents us from enjoying the moment and looking towards the future with hope. It prevents us from choosing happiness. Love is what we are born with, fear is what we learn, happiness is what we can achieve.

I have always believed that happiness is a state that we can choose to achieve. That it is the antidote to fear. And that it comes from within rather than from without. 

When one is happy, one fears much less. One understands that fear is something that we can manage well if we learn how to avoid letting it influence our actions and reactions. 

How many of us grow up learning how to know ourselves? How many of us are taught to value ourselves and not depend on external validation in order to feel happy? How many of us are brought up to reject fear and embrace life experiences and the connections that help lead to self-realization and the happiness that results?

We can even defeat fear when we learn to connect and empathize with others and when we can accept ourselves and take responsibility for our lives.

One way to achieve this goal is through education systems that teach us how to reach inside for wisdom and happiness as well as outside for knowledge. Such a philosophy teaches us to differentiate between fear and courage. 

Some governments such as New Zealand’s have already realized this and are working to change their approach to governance and education to add a focus on happiness and well-being rather than solely depend on economic indicators as policy goals. 

As VOX reported on June 8, 2019, national happiness has become the subject of policy conferences and college courses. France commissioned a study on it, which leading economists such as Nobel Prize winners Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz completed in 2009. 

In 2011, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released its first well-being report on its member countries and, in 2012, the United Nations began releasing its annual world happiness report. 

This trend should continue as voters and governments focus increasingly on the human dimension of governance rather than solely on macroeconomic factors, and replacing fear with happiness by adopting personal and societal behaviors can allow us all to forgo the paralysis and misery that fear creates.

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Edition: Enrique Álvarez