One Hundred Sixty-Two

Posted on June 11, 2015 by John Swinburn

Fear is both a motivator and a demotivator. If that is true, that must mean fear has no effect on motivation, yes?

About John Swinburn

"Love not what you are but what you may become."― Miguel de Cervantes
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3 Responses to One Hundred Sixty-Two

  1. Millie says:
    July 1, 2015 at 5:19 pm

    Yerkes Dodson Law demonstrates that arousal (fear, anxiety) produces the best performance at the top of a bell-shaped arousal curve. With too much fear, we perform poorly because we are in a panic state. With too little, we don’t apply ourselves. Moderate fear produces the best results. I am living proof. But then so are the countless monkeys Yerkes tortured to find that out.

  2. John Swinburn says:
    June 12, 2015 at 6:51 am

    Juan, I responded yesterday. What the hell happened to my reply? I lost my fear of failure, at least some of it, when I realized it didn’t hurt nearly as much as my few flashes of success. Fear motivates me, sometime, but it demotivates me, too. It immobilizes me, in those instances, simultaneously preventing me from moving forward and from backing away.

  3. jserolf says:
    June 11, 2015 at 6:22 pm

    I don’t know, John. In fact, I wonder if “motivator” and “demotivator” are even the most righteous, descriptive, definitive parameters for “fear.”

    Fear has motivated me. I know that for sure. I am afraid of failure…..I am afraid of failure.

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