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We all have fears. It is a word everyone seems to have in their dictionary of life. .Everyone is afraid of something either small or big. As humans we are programmed to feel fear as a natural response to threats In order to protect and look after ourselves. Fears are products of the mind and can be of two kinds –it’s either due to reality or just our imagination. It can manifest in different ways. It could be fear of the unknown, fear of the dark, fear of change, fear of failure, fear of loss and even fear of success.
There are many times in life when we may have thought of taking a courageous step forward, but there is something or someone that stands in our way that has led to indefinite procrastination. As a result of this we begin to give excuses for not taking action but the actual reason that has stopped or hindered us is FEAR. . Most of the time, people fear the thought of taking a path less traveled. Even though it might be a path of their choice, they hold themselves back, thinking that they are inadequate. No matter how we try to color our excuses or not admit it to ourselves the truth is, it is fear that paralyzes us into passive inaction's. Fear has been known to be a self-defeating habit .The biggest roadblock to success, also a constant companion of growth and achievement.
Often times I wonder what great strides we could make if we spent all our time and energy on moving forward towards our goals by taking action to face and overcome solvable problems instead of allowing fear consume the best part of us worrying over things we cannot change.
How do we move beyond our fears?
If you think you don’t have what it takes to surpass all the challenges in life, well you’re wrong. Life will never run out of challenges. They are always part of anyone’s life. No matter the kind of fear we are experiencing the good news is when fear arises we have the freedom of choice to choose how we want to handle it. Facing your fears head on can help you overcome any kind of fear confronting you even if it means sacrificing or taking risk.
As I was preparing for this article I came across two acronyms for F.E.A.R. The first one defines it as “Forget everything and Run”, while the second acronym defines it as “Face Everything and Rise”. Fear is always there in either choices yet the result will vary depending on what we choose.
How can you make the right choice?
Whenever you’re confronted with any challenge you must be able to ask yourself if you’re going to let fear be an option. One way to do this is by being able to identify the kind of fear that is trying to take a hold of you if it’s a real fear or just your imagination. No matter the kind of fear you’re experiencing both can be handled. You can make the choice to eliminate this self-defeating habit and take action by deciding to go with the second acronym for F.E.A.R - Face Everything and Rise. Be ready to face your fear with all your strength and rise up to achieve whatever it is you want to achieve.
Simple strategies to conquer fear
- Be able to identify your fear
Discovering the source of your fear can go a long way towards helping you conquer it. Remember that you developed the fear at some point in your life and then your mind found ways to validate and strengthen it. As you analyse the source which could be as a result of a belief, childhood experience or mere observations, you can begin to work on your mind by feeding it with new information that builds a new mind set. You can validate and strengthen the new beliefs by focusing on things each day that support your success.
- Dealing with smaller fears
You can begin conquering your fears by first working on your smaller fears that don’t really cause you to shiver or quake. This prepares your mind on how to manage the bigger ones. Taking action against your small fears will creates in you an unstoppable momentum. Ride that momentum to the destiny you desire - and deserve!
- Always choose to act
We will always be afraid of something but we must choose to act instead of letting fear eat us. We can conveniently do this when we decide to see fear as a mirage trying to stop you from seeing the real thing on the other side.
- See the Positive side of fear
Also note that in spite of how negatively influenced by fear we could be, fear can be helpful. The fear of failure which is a very common kind of fear can positively affect you if you choose to confront it way through. We can use it as motivation to do our best work and push us forward
Finally, fears are a very personal thing – and conquering your fears will be something that is extremely personal to you. What works for you might not work for another. The bottom-line is, be able to identify what works best for you and embrace it with all your strength to move forward. Taking the steps to conquer your fears and no longer allow them to rule your life is a process which will take time, effort and patience – but it will all be worth it in the end.