Fear vs Respect

Fear is a negative feeling and shows one’s weakness. It comes when one person is guilty of something or sheer helplessness. This feeling is felt when one senses danger, which can occur anywhere, at work, with family, or with friends. It is very truly said by Franklin D. Roosevelt that “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. Rather than being afraid of other things, we should be scared of fear itself. Fear scares one from the repercussion before they act upon it.

Respect is a positive feeling and shows one’s strength. It is something that one has to earn, and cannot force others to respect them. “Respect toward others can’t be imposed. It’s a blessing.. or learning the hard way” – Toba Beta. Correctly said, we cannot force ourselves to respect somebody. This is a natural feeling that comes inside us for eg, respecting our teachers, parents. Even when we are told that we should respect them as they are elder to us, the urge should be from within us to respect them.

It is said that “It is better to be respected by few than to be feared by all”. When a person is scared of something, then he/she will lose the self- confidence that they have inside themselves whereas when we are given respect by others, our confidence level rises to some extent. Respect can never be measured in quantity and can never be traded. It is something which is built over time but can also be lost in blink of an eye. To earn respect from others, we must consider their feelings and thoughts. Fear can manipulate and control people’s life. But respect is a positive aspect and everybody wants it and nobody wants to lose it.

To succeed in life, one should clear their mind from all the fears and devote it to positive thoughts. Respect should never be given out of fear, rather it should be given out of love. In the same way, we cannot gain respect from others by fearing them. People who give respect out of fear is just for certain period of time. Gaining respect is just a reflection of giving respect. So, in order to be respected, we should first learn how to respect others. So, to conclude I would just say that fear can destroy a person but respect can re-build the confidence inside them.