Overcoming Fear

Fear is the greatest obstacle of success. Many people do not go for the things that will enrich their lives the most because of fear of failure and the belief that it is better not to have tried than it is to have tried and failed. This fear is robbing you of your joy. The belief that we only get a limited number of chances is just false. As long as we are alive, we can create new opportunities and approaches to overcome difficulty and fear so that we can enjoy the success we envision. When fear first enters our mind, the instinct is often to push it away. I recommend examining it instead. I think, by not unpacking the fear, it can live in a shroud of mystery and anxiety. Fear does not want to be examined because if we examine it, we can often overcome the obstacles that our fear are telling us exist. By setting aside time to examine our fear, we create the mental space to be objective about the components of fear. Fear is generally anxiety, shame, and the desire to be safe. What we want in life rarely makes us unsafe.

A lot of people struggle with the public nature of effort. There is a lot of negative language around the idea of trying. This negative language around trying is designed to keep people small and afraid to expand their reach and lives. We have the right to want to better ourselves. We also have the right not to tell people what we are attempting to do. We decide how public or private our efforts are. I argue that anyone who would mock you for things not going exactly as planned does not deserve an intimate place in your life. My hope is that you are surrounded by people who believe in you and will support your efforts. If you are afraid of being mocked, it might help to keep in mind that everyone starts from a place of zero. Ask yourself is your happiness worth the effort and struggle necessary to succeed. By embracing that you are in pursuit of your happiness, it helps to put the discomfort that is caused by fear in perspective.

When unpacking the fear, put what fear is telling you will happen against what will happen if you do the thing that scares you and it works out positively. Is the positive outcome worth enduring the fear? Also look at the likelihood of your worst fear coming true. If your fear is of humiliation, ask yourself would enough people have the knowledge necessary to shame you and if so why would they have the power to invoke shame? If you fear a negative financial outcome, try to create a plan that details what you need to invest and what you expect the return on investment to be. If you do not have the finances at this time, make a plan to work and save or seek out investors. For every fear, when we unpack it, there are solutions to overcome them and change our circumstances. Don’t let fear control your life, You deserve to follow your dreams and achieve your goals.