Fear is mankind’s greatest handicap. Do you agree? Give reasons in support of your views

Fear is mankind’s greatest handicap. Do you agree? Give reasons in support of your views.

Answer: People often hesitate from trying something new because of fear. Fear of failure; fear of not being able to complete something; fear of poor outcome; fear of change; fear of making mistakes−this fear of taking risks in life impedes the progress of a lot of people, especially those who have tasted success in the past. Successful people like to win and achieve high standards, so they become deeply interested in only achieving continuous success. They don’t care to put their reputation as a ‘winner’ at stake—so they stay in their comfortable cocoon, missing all kinds of opportunities for an even brighter future. Yet again, childhood fears and phobias, also act as deterrents in our way of progress. Fear of darkness, may prevent a person from enjoying the beauty of the right sky. Fear of heights, the view of the world below, and fear of water like Douglas, will deprive one of enjoying various pleasures that is provided by water sports. Fear of failure prevents us from trying to move towards, success. In short fear of every nature is a handicap. Change needs resilience, and resilience is born of confidence. One’s confidence is highest when things are going well. You’ll cope with any setbacks far better when you’re doing so from a position of strength. If you wait until life has dealt you some bad blows, those necessary changes will need to be made under time, pressure and stress. That’s a bad time to make decisions. The more stressed and frantic you are, the more likely you are to make mistakes— and the less you’ll be able to recover from them. Corporations often make the same error. They get complacent when the product line is selling well and profits are high, only thinking about new ways to please their customers when those customers are already going elsewhere. Achievement is a powerful value for many successful people. Each fresh achievement adds to the drive to achieve in their lives. Failure becomes the supreme nightmare: a lurking horror that they must avoid at any cost. And the simplest way is never to take a risk. It is important to understand that failure is in fact the pillar to success. Be it J.K. Rowling, Steve Jobs, Thomas Alva Edison, Albert Einstein, King Bruce and William Douglas from the chapter ‘Deep Water’, all of them had failed multiple times to achieve success in life. In fact, constant failure was what pushed them towards success. A little failure is essential to preserve everyone’s perspective on reality. Fear is the greatest destroyer of human life and happiness. If you’re successful, but constantly afraid of failing, all your success hasn’t bought you what matters the most— peace of mind in the face of life’s constant unpredictability.

More Question-

1. How did Franz perform when his turn came to recite? How did M. Hamel react?
2. Who occupied the backbenches in the classroom on the day of the last lesson? Why? [CBSE Delhi 2015]
3. Why had M. Hamel put on his fine Sunday clothes? Why were the old men of the village sitting there in the back of the classroom?
4. What was unusual about M. Hamel’s dress and behaviour on the day of his last French lesson? [CBSE Delhi 2010C]
5. What was tempting Franz to keep away from school ‘that morning’? [CBSE Delhi 2010C]
6. Why had the bulletin board become a centre of attention during the last two years? [CBSE Delhi 2010]
7. How did M. Hamel say farewell to his students and the people of the town? [CBSE (AI) 2012]
8. How did Franz react to the declaration that it was their last French lesson? [CBSE Delhi 2013]
9. “This is your last French lesson.” How did Franz react to this declaration of M. Hamel? [CBSE Delhi 2010]
10. Who did M. Hamel blame for the neglect of learning on the part of boys like Franz? [CBSE Delhi 2011]
11. “What a thunderclap these words were to me!” Which were the words that shocked and surprised little Franz? [CBSE Delhi 2010; (AI) 2011]
12. One order from Berlin changed the scenario of the school. Comment
13. What did M. Hamel tell them about the French language? What did he ask them to do and why? [CBSE Delhi 2011, 2013C]
14. How does M. Hamel pay a tribute to the French language? [CBSE (AI) 2008]
15. How was M. Hamel’s class different the day Franz went late to school?
16. How was the scene in the school, on the morning of the last lesson, different from that on other days? [CBSE Delhi 2008] [CBSE (AI) 2015]
17. Which objects of nature does Keats mention as sources of joy in his poem, ‘A Thing of Beauty? [CBSE (AI) 2015]
18. What does a thing of beauty do for us? [CBSE Delhi 2015]
19. What does Keats consider an endless fountain of immortal drink and why does he call its drink immortal? [CBSE (AI) 2013]
20. According to Keats, what moves the pain and suffering away from human life? [CBSE Sample Paper 2016]
21. Describe any three things of beauty mentioned in the poem, ‘A Thing of Beauty'. [CBSE (AI) 2012, CBSE (AI) 2013]
22. How is a thing of beauty a joy forever? [CBSE Delhi 2012]
23. What is the message of the poem, ‘A Thing of Beauty? [CBSE (AI) 2011]
24. What spreads the pall of despondence over our dark spirits? How is it removed? [CBSE (F) 2010]