“What makes someone fearless?”

When people think of a fearless person, they may think of a firefighter, a skydiver, surgeon, police officer, or maybe even a parent. However these sorts of assumptions are wrong. In a literal sense, to be fearless you have to be without fear, but is that really possible for anyone? Even when doing mundane tasks such as cooking, there’s an underlying fear of burning yourself or messing up the recipe. To take it further than that, most people experience fear in any sort of social situation and sometimes also when they’re alone. In short, everyone experiences fear almost constantly, so how can you be ‘fearless’?

In a literal sense, no one can be fearless, but with the way we perceive the term it’s an accurate adjective. People often earn the title when pulling dangerous stunts or heroic acts, but people can also be fearless when they choose to get up each morning. Being fearless is moving through the fear that you really won’t ever escape and continuing on despite that. This means technically everyone is fearless at times and not at others. A firefighter may charge headfirst into a burning building, but run away from a cricket. Most people are too afraid to go skydiving, but they still get up and give a presentation in class. Being fearless doesn’t mean you’re never scared, in fact it’s quite the opposite, but it means you can be brave when your heart is racing and your hands are shaking. It means that despite your personal challenges, you still get up and face whatever the day may bring. So really, everyone has been fearless.