It’s probably our deepest rooted motivation for anything. Fear. Thus, in marketing, it works. And so does our deepest rooted pleasure: Sex. Our lizard brain is continuously seeking pleasure, preventing pain. Our lizard brain takes care of everything we do automatically. And we often try to sell to it as marketers to our own life.
I want to become a billionaire, so let’s fear mediocracy.
I want to become a champion, so let’s fear the second place.
I want to be faster/bigger/greater … let’s fear everything that’s not that.
Fear feeds your fight/flight response. You create adrenaline and cortisol amongst others. Long and short term ‘stress’ enters your body that starts to function in a way that’s bad for your health. Whatever you tell your thinking brain (that you’re not stressed, that you need the fear, etc), long term stress is bad for your health, and one way or another it will play catch up with you.
It goes wrong with the ‘wanting’ part that is the root of the fear you are creating. Because if you accept either outcome, there’s no stress involved in either situation happening. And if there’s no stress involved, all your brain parts can work together towards the ambition you’ve set.
So stop marketing your motivation with fear and start fueling it from a place of peace.