OVERCOMING FEAR

That familiar adrenaline surge, or "fight or flight" - It can expose vulnerabilities and make us targets of those who would do us harm or wish to manipulate us for their own ends.

Fear and doubt are common problems from which none of us are invulnerable. They are learned behaviors because we weren't born with them. They are contagious and are passed around from one to another. They damage your normal functioning, holds you down and keep you from making positive and long - lasting changes and goals in your life.

If your fear is real, accept it, embrace it and take whatever steps you can to change the circumstances that cause your fear. Bear in mind that courage isn't the absence of fear, it's the ability to press on despite the presence of fear. Many times, the solution to any fear is simply to do the thing you fear or holding you back. It's amazing how action conquers fear! Make an effort!

Fear and anxiety thrive when we imagine/envision the worst. We developed imagination to be able to project into the future so we can plan ahead and avoid problems. A bit of this is useful, but uncontrolled imagination is breeding grounds for anxiety and fear that will steal your peace, your joy and your very life. Not all of us suffer from anxiety, but fear certainly has the potential to hold us back in life. 

Approach to reducing fear is to press on and embrace the problem with gradient steps, analyzing the situation as you strive on. You cut the problem into small, manageable bites. You successfully deal with the small parts and thus reach a full resolution.

 

Remember, your belief system is the driving force behind your behaviors and your results. If your beliefs are fear driven, they will impair your normal functioning and keep you from making positive and long - lasting changes in your life.

I've gone through most of my life thinking I had to do anything that scared me so I could get past the fear. Now, looking back, I think learning how to live with the fear is one of the most valuable characteristics I have. I think fear is healthy if you know how to deal with it. I also think fear is the only feeling that precedes conquering the impossible.  If we do not take control of it, over time it will slowly gain more and more power over us. This requires us to constantly review our own actions, challenge our own assumptions, carry our portion of the responsibility, and never settle for second best or be second option.

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." - Eleanor Roosevelt.

Some want the fear to own us, but we know the truth, and we own our own lives. We have walked alone and marched together; we have tested the possibilities, and we have not found the limits; we have faced the fear, and we have transformed it to hope. We cannot stop there. If we truly desire to live the lives we want, there is one more powerful step we must take. We need to learn to positively harness the power of fear in our lives. Those who claim that they have no fear in their life are failing to utilize their potential to live their life fully. Consider love for example, which I believe to be more powerful than any other influence. It is impossible to love without feeling some degree of fear.

Positive situations also create uncertainty and trigger the fear emotion. If we act in awe of fear rather than acting in fear of fear, we can unlock the power that fear gives us. Fear gives us the awareness that we are getting outside of our comfort zone and challenging ourselves to go beyond the previous limits and break barriers. When we choose to face fear and recognize that fear represents our own power to act, we take greater control over our own lives/beings. As individuals we can choose to own the power and command our destiny; as a movement we must dare to focus the power and use it to create hope and opportunity.

If you conquer your fears and doubts, you will conquer failure and anything life tosses at you.