Holistic Athlete Weekly Newsletter

Love, Fear, and Consequences

Human behavior is often driven largely by love or fear, with an eye on trying to obtain desirable or avoid unfavorable consequences for our actions. Both have strong evolutionary purposes: acting out of love might mean protecting someone, fighting for someone, adapting to fit the needs of a relationship (or team), not wanting to let others down, and wanting to feel pride. Acting out of fear typically has a more simplified approach — the “if, then” concerns of “if I don’t play well, then I’ll lose my starting position.” “If I don’t hustle, then I’m going to have to do extra conditioning after practice.”