'We come this way but once. We can either tiptoe through life and hope that we get to death without being too badly bruised or we can live a full, complete life achieving our goals and realizing our wildest dreams' (Bob Proctor)
Fear has done, currently is, and will need to be confronted in our lives. It is natural. However, at times it can be crippling and stop us taking necessary actions to get closer to our goals/dreams. Others can chose to acknowledge the fear and anxiety yet chose to let it not get in the way, taking it along for the ride.
Why are we fearful?
Biologically speaking, it is a mechanism from our body signalling to us that we are our of our comfort zone. There would have been times where we would have been chased down by an 8 foot grizzly bear and our body would put us in this fight & flight mode, although we don't have those immediate threats in our environment today. A helpful simile for fear is that it is like a small child. You would find a small child at times stressful and difficult to manage, but you would acknowledge them and still get on with your daily tasks.
Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway
Most of the good and juicy stuff in life requires an element of fear. Asking that person out on a date, investing that money that is high reward but also high risk (let's hope my investment in STEEM turns out to be less risky! 😉) and auditioning for that role. The 'what if' can sometimes be so crippling that we never get anything done.
Fantasized Experiences Appearing Real
As humans, a lot of our fears are self-created. Think of all of the anxieties and worries that come up in our head yet never come to the front in our reality. We frighten ourselves more than life does. Yet we also have the opportunity to excite ourselves as well, overcoming the fear. Ask yourself what you are scared to do, for example:
- Ask my boss for a promotion.
- Ask Emily on a date.
Can you see here how fear is self-created when you extend the phrase, describing what you really mean.
- I want to ask my boss for a promotion, and I scare myself by imagining he would say no and be angry with my for asking.
- I want to ask Emily for a date, and I scare myself by imagining that she would say no and I would feel embarrassed.
Can you see how you are creating the fear?
How To Get Rid Of Fear
'I have lived a long life and had many troubles, most of which never happened' (Mark Twain)
Try to turn the negative thoughts and images your are having in positive and pleasant ones. Your fear will take care of itself after that. You can use this technique wherever you are, flying on a plane and thinking that it is going to crash and instead thinking of that drink on the beach you may be having when you get there, for example.
Focus on the feelings that you would rather have instead of the fear / anxiety. With the same example, notice how you would be feeling if you are a nervous flyer. Then, once you have pictured yourself on that beach with that drink notice how you start to feel relaxed and excited. Try to amplify that feeling as much as you can until the fear subsides.
So reiterating the title of this Thought For The Day, 'Experience your fear and take action anyway'.
