How to Defeat Insecurity

Security is an important thing for all living organisms. While life can exist in dangerous conditions, it is more likely to survive when it is safe and secure. Inanimate objects do not experience insecurity. A rock poised on the edge of a cliff does not worry about falling. Living things experience insecurity, and no living thing experiences insecurity more than the human being. Humans want to be secure in our environment, safe from radiation or violence. But we also want to be secure in more abstract ways. We want to be secure in our position in society. We want to be secure in our jobs and secure in our relationships to others.

Perhaps, most vexingly, we want to be secure in ourselves. We want to know that we are good enough. It seems, more often than not, that we are unsure of ourselves. This type of personal insecurity is the worst, but there are at least two ways to deal with it.

The first way to deal with personal insecurity is very simple. All you have to do is be perfect all the time. Unfortunately, this also appears to be impossible. I am not perfect, and I have never met anyone who is. Still, this does not mean that such perfection does not exist. Maybe you, reader, are indeed perfect. If so, then congratulations! I hope someone throws you a parade!

The other way to deal with personal insecurity is to accept it as part of life, and move on. No creature is ever 100% safe on the Earth. There are too many threats out there. A cop can protect you from crime, but can’t help you if you get sick. A doctor can cure your illness, but he might try to steal from you in the process.

In the same way, no non-hypothetical person is completely safe from feelings of personal insecurity. No religion or philosophy can completely extinguish doubt. No party trick can make every single person like you. Many people try to protect themselves completely from any and all shortcomings. Ironically, this will make them even more insecure, because they will inevitably fail.

Expecting to be completely safe all the time is like trying to fight the wind. The wind doesn’t care if you fight it. Swing and kick and bite at the wind. It will just make you look stupid, and a strong gust will knock you down anyway.

The best way to deal with insecurity is to do just that: deal with it. Accept it. Treat it like that friend you don’t like, but are still friends with anyway.

Or maybe I am wrong. Maybe those who fight the wind know something about the power of will that I do not. If you can’t be perfect, and you can’t accept imperfection, then maybe the best thing to do is insist you are perfect even though you are not.

Inanimate objects don’t feel insecure, so maybe the best way to defeat insecurity is to be like the rock on the edge of the cliff. It could fall at any time, but it doesn’t know, so it’s cool.

If you want to feel secure all the time, then give up on your humanity and act like a rock.

If you want to be a happy person, then embrace humanity, and give up on being perfect all the time.