Fear is a Four Letter Word

Fear is a series of reactions in the brain triggered by a stressful stimulus and ending with such physical reactions as tense muscles, rapid heartbeat and rushed breathing. Fear is kills dreams, ambitions, happiness, love, and success. Fear of failure or success is real! Too often, you see opportunities, but you are unwilling to pursue them because of fear. Fear holds you back! 

Fear keeps you from achieving your goals. Whenever you try anything new, you will experience fear. It may be fear of failure or success, but it is real. Trying new things help us grow and experience new things. Fear in itself is not bad, but it can keep you from your goals.”The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt) Fear has a paralyzing effect on human behavior which makes us retreat vs. trying new things.

What is your biggest fear? They say it is the fear of public speaking. We are have fears big, small, real, weird, absurd, plain, complex and some that are even common. Some are afraid of death or disease. Others are more concerned with fear of loss, success    or heights. There are many more fears, but we are only going to focus on the ones you can do something about. Most fears come from taking risks. If you are unwilling to take risks, you will not experience fear or success.

Success is just as scary as failure for some people! You should have fear when you attempt something that is scary. It is a natural response to danger! You may be on a safari and you are photographing lions or some other wild animal. Fear will keep you alert and avoid injury or death. Most of us will never go on a safari, but you will cross a heavily traveled street, play sports, or just do something new. Fear helps us survive because it makes us cautious!

Fear is different for everybody. You may fear spiders, snakes, flying, death, heights, public speaking or something else. Fear can affect you emotionally and physically. Fear places limits on your experiences. Your fear of snakes will probably do very little to limit your experiences, but flying will limit you travel options. I remember how scary my public speaking class was in college. My solution was preparation! I would practice until I was confident giving my speech.

Overcoming fear

• Practice – Practice is the repeated exercise or performing an activity regularly. This is why sport is so important for success. You learn a lot of skills in sports that has nothing to do with the actual game and you can use those skills throughout your life. Some may call it training. It prepares you to handle your fear.

• Be positive – Negative thoughts will never help you! Imagine yourself succeeding or overcoming your fear. If you can believe you will accomplish the goal, you will. It is one of the reasons; you keep your goals nearby and measure your progress. Start with something small and build your confidence.

• Don’t try to solve all your fears at once – If you take on too much, you will fail! Take one fear at a time and you can conquer anything. Change is difficult! Make small changes and you will find success.

• Supportive people – Get help! Have supportive people around you. You do not need criticism or naysayers! You want encouragement not negative comments. Success changes people, it makes them confident. When you are confident, you are more willing to try new things and conquer your fears.

• Goals – Having goals is a great way to overcome your fears. When you set goals, you break the goal down into tasks or objectives so you can measure your progress. It helps you overcome your fears because it is a smaller more attainable task. 

Final thoughts

Conquering your fears is important! It helps you achieve your goals. Overcoming your fears will make you happier and more successful. Fear is meant to make you cautious, not retreat. The first time I had to give a speech in public speaking, I was scared to death. I I picked a subject I could energetically present and practiced until I reduced my fear. I became confident and achieved A’s on all my speeches. Fear is a four letter word!

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