Fearless vs. Foolish
written by Allan on December 02, 2011
Beverly Nelson wrote a blog post about being Fearless vs Foolish, and her article got me thinking:
What is the difference between being fearless & foolish?
I wanted to dig further into what the meanings were behind these two words.
They are both adjectives and are often subjective states of being as seen through the eye of the beholder.
- “Allan was foolish because he left his job.”
- “Allan was fearless because he left his job.”
Is the difference between the two words really only subjective because of the outcome?
In 2004, when I left my job, I felt like I made a fearless choice. If I would have failed to pay my bills and had not gained clients, would the perception of my actions have changed in the eyes of other people? YES! I would have felt and been looked at as foolish for leaving my job, foolish for leaving a steady paycheck, foolish for losing my insurance and foolish for putting my “future” at risk.
If your foolish venture turns out successful, you will be perceived as fearless. Success negates foolishness which turns a foolish action into a fearless one.
- Being foolish means being ignorant of outside factors that could affect an action’s success, causing it to fail.
- Being fearless only means being conscious of these outside factors, ignoring them and being successful in a given action.
We’re all foolish; ignoring the advice of others, charging towards what we believe is right. We’re all fearless; ignoring the advice of others, charging towards what we believe is right.
Leave a Comment
Allan loves his family more than breathing. He lives in Panama City, Florida & grew up washing cars at his family's car washes. Oh and Allan hasn't worn underwear since 2004.
4 Comments
Good piece. Fearless is the having the confidence that nothing you do can ever be perceived as foolish. Fearless is believing you can’t lose and, even when you do, having the nerve to make it a win anyway.
Seems like a pretty fair assessment to me.
I think I’d add that fearless likely has a plan (may or may not be a good plan) and foolish is just flying by the seat of their pants. Of course, fearless with a bad plan could also be foolish I suppose.
Good stuff. Reminds me of those who seek to lead a political revolution. If they succeed, they’re called revolutionaries or founding fathers. If they fail, they’re called rebels or dissidents.
Great post! I often times find myself wanting to be fearless and take a leap, but hold back because if I were to fail, I would be looked at as being very foolish since I have a wife and 5 children to provide for.