Am I driven by fear or am I driven by love?

Akash was my friend in school. He was very good at everything he did - sports, studies, dramatics, etc. He was very competitive. His goal was to be in the top 3 of the class always. He wanted to get into the best engineering college in the country. After every exam he would meet the other potential toppers of the class and try to find out their answers to the question paper. He wanted to know how they had done. Had he beaten them?

Ashish was my best friend. He too was a brilliant boy. He too wanted to come in top of the class and get into the best colleges. He was very focussed. He too would meet many students after the exams. He would discuss answers and possible solutions with other students. He was excited to find out how others may have solved the same questions. He loved to find out how others think.

What is the difference between my two dear friends - one was driven by fear, and one was driven by love.

Fear is a powerful motivator no doubt, and sometimes it has its place in my life.
But fear makes me insecure. Fear leaves me feeling a little empty. Fear makes me want to win, no matter what the means. Fear seeks to defeat.

Love works differently. In love I still want to win. But, in love I want to explore. I want to discover. I want to learn.
Love always makes me feel filled with gratitude. Love makes me open to possibilities. Love seeks to make a difference.

In the movie 3 Idiots, Chatur was driven by fear, whereas Rancho was driven by love.

Don’t get me wrong. I am extremely competitive and I love winning. I have at times been driven by fear.
I have enough number of times, been driven by love, and won. At times I lost.

But whenever I have been driven by love, the win is always sweeter, and even the loss always leads to a another victory