Better still – chuck FEAR out of the window! FEAR cripples you. What can be more defeating than something that blocks growth?
What is fear? Fear is a feeling induced by perceived danger or threat that occurs in certain types of organisms, which causes a change in metabolic and organ functions and ultimately a change in behaviour, such as fleeing, hiding, or freezing from perceived traumatic events…. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There is nothing rational or irrational about fear. It is a base emotion. It exists, whether we like it or not and is one of the biggest obstacles to growth and success.
Fear is always larger than life. We are afraid of the dark because we don’t know what the darkness holds – imagined or real. We are afraid of taking risks because we don’t know whether we will be successful or not. We are afraid to go up that stage and face a crowd, wondering, “What if they boo me”. Fear of becoming old, fear of falling prey to a deadly disease, fear of rejection. So may fears.
Many times, these fears become so ingrained in our system that even thinking there is a way out, is unimaginable. Fear can also turn life-threatening, phobic, irrational or delusional.
“If you listen to your fears, you will die never knowing what a great person you might have been.” -Robert H. Schuller
The only way then is to overcome our fears. The best way to overcome fear is to face our personal demons, heads on and move forward. Easily said than done! Then HOW!
There are many ways, quite effective ways. But before that one must be willing, and garner the courage to fight one’s fears and overcome them.
Let’s check out ways we can conquer our fears.
Our fears will not just go away. It very rarely does. It is so deep rooted that it takes courage and determination to face the fear and conquer it. There is only one way to conquer fear and that is to face it. Some of these ways could motivate you to do it.
Be AWARE of your fears – Make a list of all that scares you and approach it, one at a time, smaller ones first and the bigger ones later. Kind of a tick mark exercise. As you keep ticking fears you have conquered, you start gathering more and more courage to face the bigger ones.
Find out their origin – dig deep if required – We are not born afraid. It happens when we experience certain things. When you start making a list of your fears, find out why, when and how they originated. This will give you a clearer picture and you will start looking at it objectively. When you start listing them down, this exercise itself is an outlet. It will be easier to believe that you can conquer it.
Everyone has fears – You are not alone in this. 98-99 percent living beings have some fear or the other. You have to tell yourself that there is nothing to feel ashamed of, or embarrassed for that matter. Fear is just another emotion. A little fear is sometimes healthy. It will prevent you from doing something which could pose a risk or danger. It is also important to differentiate between rational and irrational fear. For example – You don’t want to enter deep waters as you don’t know swimming. This is rational since there is a perceived danger. On the other hand, just imagine your new office is on the 14th floor. You refuse to enter into the lift of the building because you are afraid the lift would break and fall. This is, to quite an extent, irrational, because you could end up climbing and getting down stairs or quitting a meaty job. Your fear has to make sense else you would be dealing with fears which has no basis.
Face it – Once you have started understanding your fear and its origin, you have in some way or the other accepted it. Then begins the journey of controlling your reactions, to the situations that invoke fear. Change your reaction to your fear. Talk yourself out of it. Slowly you will realize that most of your fears were imagined, irrational.
Attend relevant Trainings and Workshops – Very powerful experiential workshops are held, where experienced faculty will show you ways and methods and will also guide you through the process. Such workshops concentrate on helping you overcome such fears which cause you distress and can cause havoc in your daily functioning. If the fear is deep-rooted, it converts into phobia which can lead to anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses if not tackled properly.
Such workshops have counsellors who follow a process to rid you of the fear that has held you captive for so long. The process consists of understanding and identifying your fear through designed conversations, making you aware of the strength of being in the present, some exercises using Emotional Freedom Techniques and so on. More deep-rooted methods through which fears are negated would be through hypnosis and counselling.
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” ― Frank Herbert, Dune
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