A long time ago, I watched the Divergent series on television. I don’t remember much from it, but one quote has stayed with me to this day: “Fear does something strange to people like Al. But not you. Fear doesn’t shut you down, it wakes you up.”

Al, one of the characters, together with his friends, tried to kill the main heroine — Tris. He was terrified of being excluded from the group and losing his rank. He feared the end of his current life so much that he was willing to take someone else’s. Tris was saved by Four — mysterious, quiet, but incredibly brave, skilled, and, of course, strikingly handsome. The shame and guilt that consumed Al after the incident drove him to take his own life. It was then that Four spoke those unforgettable words to Tris.

I remember wondering what it was — that quality Tris possessed. She wasn’t fearless. She felt fear, but she acted despite it. And that’s the very lesson we learn as adults — to feel fear, but act anyway.

At first, fear often paralyzes us. But eventually, there comes a moment when we step beyond that paralysis — when there’s nothing left to do but act. That fearful numbness can last a long time and may return in similar situations, until we finally realize that it’s not fear itself that’s our greatest enemy, but the powerlessness in which we remain trapped.

I like to think of that moment as hitting our symbolic rock bottom — the point from which we can push ourselves back up, because there’s nowhere lower to go. That’s why people say the most dangerous person is the one who has nothing to lose. But I believe the person who has recognized their own state of “freeze” and overcome it is just as powerful — because they’ve understood that the real danger lies in staying paralyzed and doing nothing.

I used to experience that paralyzing fear many times myself. And afterward, I’d feel hatred toward myself — for not acting, for letting things unfold “as usual.” Now, I still feel fear in situations that once terrified me, but I respond to it differently. It doesn’t mean I’m fearless — it means my senses are sharper in moments of threat. That’s why the phrase “it wakes you up” is so accurate — because that’s exactly what happens. Fear wakes me up. It awakens my body, my senses, my instincts, and my drive to act. Anyone can learn this — how to face fear and consciously transform it into proactivity.

It’s the same with hunger. When we cross a certain threshold of hunger — just as we cross the threshold of fear — paralysis gives way to searching. And I don’t mean only physical hunger, but above all, the inner hunger — the hunger of the heart and soul, longing to return to what they were created for.