On Choosing Between Fear and Exploration

Ethan Hunt, in the Mission: Impossible films, says it more than once: “Our life is the sum of our choices” — a line that originally belongs to the philosopher Albert Camus.

So let’s keep it in mind every time we make a decision — every time we choose between the fear inside us, the awkwardness, the dread of looking foolish in front of others, the quiet surrender of what we truly want… and a bold step toward something new and unknown.

I read an interesting thought somewhere: “Happiness is choosing exploration over fear, every time.” How many times have we chosen fear? It looks like nothing at all: didn’t walk over, didn’t write, didn’t say it, didn’t try. But what do we end up with? Over time these little nothings add up into automatic patterns that run our actions and shape who we are — how we live, and how, in the end, we live out our whole life. Slowly a closed loop forms, and climbing out of it only gets harder.

One of my life mottos is “a pragmatist with the heart of an explorer.” It’s about balance. I’m not for thoughtless leaps off a cliff just to tick a box. I’m for a conscious interest in life. For trying, asking questions, reaching out, acting, looking, feeling, getting it wrong, putting it right. For widening the borders of what we’ve seen and lived. For accepting that we don’t know — and searching anyway. Searching for answers. Searching for our own path beyond the goals we set in advance, because those goals can turn out to be too narrow, while the world is far wider.

Exploration isn’t only about the outer world. It’s about seeing yourself in a new light. In a new action. In a new conversation. In a new reaction. It’s a way of being alive.

Here’s to choosing exploration over fear — and living a full life! 😎