Habit of scared living kills potential

The title you read might stir something inside you to deeply think about your actions and behaviour, which in itself is a sign that you may often internally question yourself before making a decision:

“What if it goes wrong”?

This one question may seem harmless but has enough power to interrupt our day-to-day functioning by constantly negotiating with the potential. While it encourages us of being cautious, relying on caution everytime you have to make a decision can slowly turn into irrational fears. Overtime, these fears reshape how we live & build unhealthy patterns that influence our responds to the world. Such habit leads to a life where our choices are driven more by avoidance than aspiration.

What Does It Mean to Live Scared?

Living scared doesn’t always look dramatic. It’s subtle.

It looks like:

Not speaking in meetings even when you have ideas.
Staying in a job due to considering yourself incapable or full of self-doubts “what if I fail elsewhere?”
Saying yes because people pleasing is constant — “what if they don’t like me?”
Not chasing a dream and settling for less “what if people laugh?”

In moments like these, we shrink. We suppress. We adjust. And we start to believe that playing it safe is the smart way to live. But in order to avoid failure , we start avoiding life over time, it becomes clear — we’re not living, we’re just surviving.

Why Do We Get Stuck in Fear?

Many of us are not born fearful — we become that way. As the time goes by, our experiences and environments shape us into people who hesitate, hold back, and second-guess.

For many people, it starts in childhood, where society and adults teach us that making mistakes is not a part of life but was something to be ashamed of. And when we faced failure, instead of learning from it, we internalized it as proof that we weren’t good enough. Society often encourages this mindset by rewarding obedience and punishing rebellion, conditioning us to stay within invisible lines or “limits”. We’ve watched people around us get judged, mocked, or rejected simply for trying something different. So, in an effort to stay safe, we adopt fear-based living — not realizing that while it protects us from discomfort, it also traps us in cycles of regret, self-doubt, and feeling stuck. But we can break these limiting patters with the help of professionals to guide us toward a healthier, long term way of living.

A Quick Tip:

Try to Be kind to the person in your colony, building, colleague, a friend in your group who is trying to follow their heart and learning that one skill or something new that they have been longing for years because it does not needs anyone’s judgement or opinions on it. This will not only encourage them but will fill your heart with joy and might spark something inside you to take a step forward in your healing journey.

Final thought

The habit of scared living doesn’t protect you — it shrinks you. Your fears may feel familiar, but they’re not your friends. They are not facts. They are just stories your mind tells you.

And the good news? You can rewrite the story. Any moment you wish to.

You don’t have to become fearless. You just have to stop letting fear decide who you get to be.