The Myth of Fearlessness

Be fearless. Suck it up. No pain, no gain. Just do it.

It’s always presented as the gold standard, the thing that you are supposed to aim for and become. The best of the best athletes are fearless. They can enter into a competition and stare it down.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. The importance of being fearless is a LIE. Fearlessness occurs only when you have zero things to fear. And any time you enter into the competition area, you run the risk of losing. The fact that there is a risk means that fear will also exist. There is uncertainty in sport which turns into doubt and fear. You can’t be certain that you will get a hit, make that field goal, or win the game. It’s this uncertainty and the chance to have success in the face of the risk, that makes us love sports.