Page 214 - Napoleon Hill Think and Grow Rich Full Book | Success Learned

In the main, this fear grows out of two sources. First, the thought that old age
may bring with it POVERTY. Secondly, and by far the most common source of
origin, from false and cruel teachings of the past which have been too well mixed
with "fire and brimstone," and other bogies cunningly designed to enslave man
through fear.

In the basic fear of old age, man has two very sound reasons for his apprehen-
sion-one growing out of his distrust of his fellowman, who may seize whatever
worldly goods he may possess, and the other arising from the terrible pictures of
the world beyond, which were planted in his mind, through social heredity before
he came into full possession of his mind.

The possibility of ill health, which is more common as people grow older, is also a
contributing cause of this common fear of old age. Eroticism also enters into the
cause of the fear of old age, as no man cherishes the thought of diminishing sex
attraction.

The most common cause of fear of old age is associated with the possibility of
poverty. "Poorhouse" is not a pretty word. It throws a chill into the mind of every
person who faces the possibility of having to spend his declining years on a poor
farm.

Another contributing cause of the fear of old age, is the possibility of loss of free-
dom and independence, as old age may bring with it the loss of both physical and
economic freedom.

SYMPTOMS OF THE FEAR OF OLD AGE

The commonest symptoms of this fear are:

The tendency to slow down and develop an inferiority complex at the age of
mental maturity, around the age of forty, falsely believing one's self to be "slip-
ping" because of age. (The truth is that man's most useful years, mentally and
spiritually, are those between forty and sixty).

The habit of speaking apologetically of one's self as "being old" merely because
one has reached the age of forty, or fifty, instead of reversing the rule and express-
ing gratitude for having reached the age of wisdom and understanding.

The habit of killing off initiative, imagination, and self-reliance by falsely believ-

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NAPOLEON HILL THINK AND GROW RICH