When I was a
sophomore in college, a group of psychologists visited our basketball team to
discover, among many things, how to help our coaches with techniques on how to
motivate the individual players on our team.
What they found was quite helpful and revealing for me personally. They asserted that basically, all humans are
motivated by fear. That you're either
afraid of failing or you're afraid of succeeding. That we're either rewards-based or
consequences-based.

Let me use my
profile to illustrate this point. I have
never really been afraid of looking like a fool. Or so I thought for about 20 years. I was
usually one of those students who'd ask the teacher questions when everyone
else was afraid they'd be perceived as a dunce.
Not me. I wanted to know.

In fact, one day in
basketball practice as a senior in high school my coach noticed that I'd been
shooting all of my shots left-handed (I'm a righty). He thought I was showboating but I was just
challenging myself. Well, that wasn't
how he saw it. So, he issued his own
challenge. "Fran Harris, the moment you
miss a jumpshot trying to shoot it left-handed, you're gonna run sprints until I
get tired. Understood?" I smiled in his
direction and said okay.

Now, there are two
basic ways I could have responded to my coach. I could have said, "Oh,
goodness, if I miss, I'm gonna be running for the rest of practice." Or I could have said, "I'm not gonna
miss--which means I'll look like a top gun and boy, won't I show him!" Guess which one I chose? Yep, the latter. I practiced for two hours and shot more than
thirty shots and did not miss a single shot with my left hand. Not a big deal for players who never shot a
whole lot anyway or where weren't the stars of their teams. But that wasn't the
case for me. I had to take a lot of shots because I was one of the focal
points in our offense. If it looked like
my teammates were avoiding giving me the basketball, my coach would yell at
them. My coach stood on the sidelines with a watchful eye, almost daring me to
miss a shot. But instead I continued to sink every shot I took. Inside jumpers.
Outside bombs. I couldn't miss. For a minute I thought maybe I really was
left-handed. After each basket I didn't just run to the other end of the floor.
No, not me, I'd wink at my coach. I know, cocky but what can I say, I was
having a blast. Not my coach, though. He was fuming so bad you could have fried
an egg on his forehead. He was furious.

You see, for me, the
rewards are usually more important than the possible consequences. Being viewed as a sizzling shooter was more
attractive than running a few silly sprints.
But for some people, the embarrassment of missing and running would have
made them switch shooting hands. Not
me. For me, the prize is always worth
the price.

So, which type are
you? Are you more motivated to reap
rewards or to avoid consequences? And
are you comfortable with your type? Are
you so afraid of missing the mark that you sabotage your success by not even
trying? Or are you so afraid of
succeeding that you limit yourself because you know that if you succeed that
you'll be expected to repeat your feat or better it?

Consider your own answers to these
questions. Have you ever...

Turned down a promotion because you didn't want to be in the
spotlight?

Asked that your name not be mentioned as a key person in a project's
completion?

Said to yourself or someone else, "What I'd really like to do is
________ (fill it in) but there's no money in it."

Said to yourself or someone else, "People would think I'm crazy if I
left this job to ___________."

Said to yourself or someone else, "When I was 15, I wanted to be a
______ but now I'm too old (fat,
married, settled, etc.)"

Said, "I could never do that."

If you answered yes to any of these
questions there's a chance you haven't found your life's purpose because you're
too afraid of what you might have to give up!
Well, you say you knew that?
But is it possible to not be immobilized by fear? What do you think?