“It’s okay to have anxiety,” La Russa said. “You’re going to face a lot of opportunities where there’s an uncertain outcome and you’ve been given the opportunity to try it. Bad fear means you call in sick. And you will never, ever have a strong personal feeling and a strong enough ego to be successful and take advantage of what you’ve gone through your whole life.”
His philosophy is so practical: Good fear propels you to facing a challenge with a stronger mindset and better preparation, while bad fear drives you to curl up on the couch. La Russa told me that responding to bad fear—dodging your challenges—will lead to a weak ego and a lack of confidence, and can create more anxiety as we obsess over the opportunities that we passed on.
