Fear

Fear is one of the basic instincts. It's useful and keeps you safe on most occasions, but it can be a major hindrance to your personal growth. We can be afraid of quitting an unsatisfying job because we are afraid that we won't do well in business. We are afraid of the opinion of the others. But mainly we are afraid of failure and we are scared of rejection. Too many people never get started with their dreams because they're afraid that they would fail. But not having the courage to start pursuing your dream is worse than failure. Since you didn't pursue your dream, it's foolish to expect that it will come true. However, there's a good probability that it might come true if you at least get started on it.

Fear of rejection is another weird thing too. I observed this behavior of a friend of mine when we were clubbing together. There was a stunning looking tall girl in a club and my friend was clearly checking her out. Since I was the neutral observer, I could see the silent interaction between these two people. She was giving him all sorts of indicators of interest: looking at him, fixing her hair, etc. But my friend wouldn't get out there and start talking to her. I told him: Dude, go up to her! She's clearly interested in you." But he would just stand there although he really liked her as well. I wondered at that point of the reason why most guys are scared of approaching the women that they like. There's really nothing to lose in approaching someone, but that irrational fear prevents so many people from connecting to each other. I wonder if it's some kind of evolutionary or biological mechanism, as it doesn't make any sense logically.