FACING YOUR FEARS
While a four-year-old child might be scared of staying alone in the dark, a ninety-year-old man might fear losing his life.
This makes us realise that every living person has something to fear, whether young or old. It is a constant in life.
Fear is an unpleasant feeling triggered by the perception of danger, real or imagined. Although it is mostly a thing of the mind, it can spark a strong physical reaction in the body.
Whether it is the fear of physical harm, fear of the unknown, or fear of failure, it greatly influences our thoughts and behaviours.
More often than not, to get the best things one wishes for, one has to overcome one’s fears.
Overcoming your fears may involve merely facing the very things that instill fear in you. For instance, you can conquer social anxiety by attending more social events and mixing with more people.
You can overcome the fear of failure by shifting your mind away from the thoughts of failing and embarking on that project regardless.
You can conquer the fear of expressing yourself on social media or in person by expressing yourself more. That way, you build self-confidence. The list goes on.
What’s more? You can only tell if you are capable of achieving something when you conquer the obstacle stopping you from achieving it. Similarly, you can only know if a business risk will give you the desired result when you take the risk.
Although research has shown that 75% of people suffer from speech anxiety, you can only know if you are good at public speaking when you stand before an audience to deliver a speech.
A four-year-old child doesn’t realize that staying in a dark room does not hurt until he remains there for a while. He becomes more courageous to even walk alone in a dark street.
Interestingly, fear can act as a motivator, prompting individuals to take certain actions because they fear the consequences of not taking such actions. Dale Carnegie once said, “Do the thing you fear to do and keep doing it; that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear.”
When you avoid taking action, you deliberately limit your chances of success or growth. At its core, fear has mostly negative impacts as it hinders you from achieving your goals. However, you can avoid the negative impacts by understanding your fears, setting realistic goals, and doing those things you are scared of.
Ignore hateful comments, build your self-confidence, and never be scared of trying again. That is the only way you can overcome fear. The good things you desire are on the other side of fear. You need to reach a turning point and face your fears.
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