Fear is a powerful emotion. It can totally stop you from pursuing dreams, desires, or even from riding a roller coaster. For some, fear is part of their everyday life; it stifles them from functioning normally with daily activities.
One of the interesting things about fear is fear itself. We allow it to control us and we do not even understand the foundation of where it is coming from.
In one of John Maxwell’s Leadership Wired newsletters (that you can sign up for on his Injoy website ) he discussed reasons why we fail to succeed, one of which was fear. His advice on how to fix your fears was very helpful to me. Here is what he wrote:
Fear
Fear has the ability to exaggerate itself and spread throughout our life. When fear grips us, we are frozen and incapable of action. Worrisome thoughts fill our mind with distractions, and we are powerless to be productive.
How to “Fix Your Fears”
1. Discover the foundation of the fear. Fears are more often based on feeling than facts. To control fear, search for its underlying emotion. More often than not, you will find fear has no rational root.
2. Accept fear as the price of progress. Whenever we venture into new territory, we are met with the fear of the unknown. We must be willing to step outside of our comfort zone and face the fear of the unfamiliar.
3. Feed the right emotion, starve the wrong one. Many times we cannot hope to avoid the emotion of fear. Despite our best efforts to have courage, fear settles into the pit of our stomach like a rock. We may never eliminate fear, but we can refuse to let it dominate. If we act according to hope and optimism, eventually our action will transform our emotions.
Such excellent advice Dr. Maxwell gives on this topic. “To accept fear as the price of progress” is a pretty interesting thought. Looking at fear that way makes it easier to challenge and move through.
“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” ― John C. Maxwell
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