Fear of the Unknown, the Art of War, and Competitiveness
Claudia Gomez - September 15, 2006

It is a natural human reaction to fear the unknown. Perhaps these feelings are a self-protecting mechanism, and necessary to maintain the status quo, to preserve feelings of an artificial security. Nevertheless, this act of negating a changing reality is a far cry from providing real feelings of security. On the contrary, it makes those who are afraid to investigate the cause of this feeling more uncertain. If we think of fear in another way (or with other "lenses"), we can come to think of it as an ally—it is a sort of defense system that alerts to certain weakness, and the consequent necessity to identify them, understand them, and handle them. For this process to occur, it is necessary to admit—a verb which is underused these days—that what we are doing in the present is not necessarily the best thing, although rationally, we believe it is. Admitting weakness is not easy, as it is the psychological equivalent of naked exposure. But although this feeling may be uncomfortable, it will allow us to take action...