On Hope, Fear, and Desire

Seneca tells Lucilius that hope and fear, though wholly different feelings, always accompany each other. If you hope, you will inevitably also fear. But he is wrong.

Fear is an emotion that manifests as pain throughout the body. This pain is so powerful that it can grip the mind, forcing negative thoughts and irrational behavior. Yet we all have the ability to conquer fear by choosing not to think when that pain arises. Many people always carry some of this pain within them, though it is not always enough to prevent them from working. Focus your attention on your work and you will have already won. But if you turn to negative thinking, those thoughts will trigger more pain, which will in turn feed further negative thoughts.

Hope, in contrast, is an action. To hope is to know your desire and to walk toward it each day. This does not mean constantly thinking about it. If that were the case, you would chain your present state to something you lack and might never attain. Such attachment can easily breed negative thoughts, however beautiful the vision may seem at first. Instead, remind yourself of your desire when you are in a good mood, then set it aside and return to the work of the day.