Fear is the biggest obstacle to your success and the most controllable by you . In nearly every situation fear is a state of mind beyond the reality. More often than not, your fear is based from a feeling that you might fail, or that your ego or pride might be adversely effected.
A good definition of fear is: F.E.A.R False – Expectations – Appearing – Real
Fear v. Courage
Courage is not the absence of fear but the willingness to proceed in-spite of it.
Health fear v. Unhealthy (unproductive) fear
Healthy fear can keep us safe. Fear can be a response of the mind telling us to use caution, danger might be ahead. We have all faced this kind of fear and many have marched through it. Like the first time on a roller coaster, or the police officer having to go into a dark building after an armed suspect. These fears are just cautionary. However, unproductive fear is the kind that keeps you from advancing in a career because you might fail, or making that call to the bank that might be uncomfortable, or talking with your spouse about a potential problem. Avoiding action in these fears will not make the situation go away, you will face them again and be forced to deal with them and often times the situation of much was than it would have been the first time.
Surrender and Feel The Fear
Many of us allow fear to paralyze us because we don’t like feeling fear. But if you simply allow yourself to feel the fear when it shows up, you will notice that it quickly dissipates and suddenly the situation feels more manageable.
The next time you notice yourself getting stressed out or feeling afraid of something not working out, sit quietly by yourself, set your timer for two minutes and start taking deep breaths. Notice where you feel tightness or tension in your body, and simply breathe into that area for the two minutes. When the timer goes off after two minutes, chances are the feelings will have shifted. The more you do this, the more you will trigger your body’s natural calm response and you will move through fear with greater ease.
