Fear. You’ve heard about it. You’ve felt it. You keep trying to deal with it. This is another one of those subjects I could talk for days about. We’re not talking about fear as of ‘respect’. No. We’re talking about fear as of ‘being afraid’. We’ve felt fear since we were babies. It is normal to feel certain degrees of fear. It isn’t always a bad thing, because fear can also be a warning signal to protect us and keep us safe. But I’m not speaking about those fears either.
The kind of fear I am speaking about is the fear that we allow to take full control of us and our life. If you don’t catch that kind of fear, it stops you from living the life you want and makes you feel stuck. I am speaking of the fear that starts in our mind with simple thoughts. It’s the kind of fear that sneaks into the way you think. We become afraid of regular life situations. We stop ourselves from living life to the fullest, because we are afraid. Afraid of failure. Perhaps afraid due to insecurity. Maybe afraid because of rejection. It could be fear because you don’t know where your life journey is taking you. The list goes on and on.
Different People, Different Fears
Different people have fears of different things. Fear is a big word, meaning, it can come from so many different things. Sometimes we feel it when we feel threatened. And not just physically. We can also fear when we feel threatened psychologically or emotionally, whether it’s real or imagined. Fears come with different intensity levels. Sometimes you feel just slightly nervous, other times you feel complete panic or horror even.
You feel fear when you feal a threat of harm. It is a threat you are feeling to YOUR (or a loved ones) well-being. I’m going to be completely transparent here for a second… Until not too long ago, I was afraid of the dark. And that’s been a fear ever since I was two or three years old. I am not sure where or why it started, but I remember there was a dark space between a closet and the wall in my bedroom when I was a child, where I always thought a creepy man was hiding at night. As I grew up, every time when I was in a completely dark room, I would freak out. I couldn’t handle it. Darkness is a common fear trigger to many. And it can have many different roots or reasons.
Common Fear Triggers
Other more common triggers are fears of heights. Many people can’t be up high. Others get that feeling only if there is no stable floor they can stand on. Certain people can’t do the flying. There are people that have a trigger when it comes to loss of visibility, or when they can’t see their surroundings. It can put them in panic mode. A common trigger can be the fear of social interaction. Many are afraid of rejection. There are so many others… from simple things as spiders, snakes, rodents, certain animals, to very intense things as death.
If it’s not being dealt with early on and persistently goes on, it becomes anxiety. Remember when we talked about that? You constantly continue to worry and aren’t even sure why. Overcoming your fears can be one of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of life. When fear is not being dealt with, it can keep you from many amazing things in life. Fear keeps you from achieving great things in life. But by facing it head on, you can take control of it and use it to propel yourself forward.
Identify and Understand Your Fears
The inability to identify the trigger prevents us from being able to remove ourselves, or the actual threat, from the situations. To overcome fear, you have to cope with the threat you’re feeling. When you don’t, that’s when the fear’s intensity factor increases. Fear are not false emotions appearing real. Fear are real emotions appearing real. Read that again!
You’re at a point in your life where you’ve had enough of what fear brings in your life. When you first wake up in the morning and the first thoughts that pop up are speaking fear. You are stressing and afraid about what the day could bring. You are constantly catching negative thoughts and are tired of it. It’s time for things to take a turn for your good. Here are some ways to do so.
There are ways to confront and manage fear in order to develop a greater sense of inner strength and resilience. Now is the time to learn some of the steps to become fearless. It’s time for your life to change by taking control of fear & conquering it! By overcoming fear, you gain courage.
Fear Coping Strategies
The first step to overcome fear is to identify exactly what you’re afraid of. Write down your fears so that you can better understand and explore them. Acknowledge the effects of your fear, such as an increased heart rate and muscles tensed in anticipation. With this awareness, you can start to build a plan of action for overcoming your fear.
Ask yourself why you are afraid and consider all the potential causes that might be playing a part in your fear. Whether it’s a fear of failure, rejection or uncertainty, understanding why you’re afraid can help you to better cope with it. Once you’ve identified the root cause of your fear, you can start to take active steps towards overcoming them.
Next, start to reframe it into a positive thought. This step is essential for shifting from the negative beliefs that create and reinforce your fears. For example, if you are scared of public speaking, instead of thinking “this is going to be a disaster,” start telling yourself “I’m ready to do my best and I know I’m capable of doing this.” Believe in yourself and begin to replace your fear with courage!
Face Your Fears One Step at a Time
I can’t say it enough… A small step takes you to huge results. And that goes with fears too. Fear can be overwhelming, so it’s important to break it down into small and manageable steps. Whether you are afraid of public speaking or launching your dream career, start by facing smaller fears first in order to build up your confidence. Doing so will help you to feel less intimidated by larger challenges and more equipped on how to tackle them. This means that instead of diving head-first into a demanding goal, take time to list the micro-steps needed for success and tackle those one at a time. Don’t forget to celebrate the completion of each step along the way and stay motivated! YOU GOT THIS!
Creating a set of strategies on how to cope with your fear can help you stay on track. Whether it’s deep breathing, talking to a friend or mentor, or journaling, find the coping mechanisms that will make you feel most equipped for success. Also, don’t forget that self-care is an important part of facing your fears and dealing with any challenging situations life throws at you. Make sure you have time for activities that make you feel relaxed and fulfilled.
Time Out and Away from the Thoughts
When flooded with thoughts of fear, take some time out. Take a short time to just take a walk, or make your cup of coffee or favorite tea to just get your thoughts unto something else for a moment. Once you feel the heart rate rising, place your hand on your stomach and start taking deep breaths. That helps your mind to cope with the feeling of panic and reduces your fear of fear. Another strategy is to close your eyes and use your imagination for a moment. See yourself in a place where you feel safe and calm. Let the positive feelings take over and help you relax. Also, talking about your fears and sharing them takes away scariness from them as well. So don’t ever hold back on the sharing.
Find an opportunity to face your fear. Just give it a try… if you are afraid of heights, try to get into a higher building. Instead of using a lift, try to do stairs where you can take one step at a time. If you can’t do the whole building at once, try as far as you can and then try again another day, see if you can do a level higher this time. Facing your fear helps you to grow. That’s what many of us have craved to do. Simple growing and maturing. This is one step that has to be taken in order for that to happen in our journey.
Time for a Change
Fear is the limiting factor that holds a lot us back from reaching what we truly want. It pushes us to excuses and distractions. Once you can overcome fear, it gives you that amazing feeling of freedom. Keep in mind, life is messy. Your life can’t and won’t be perfect, no matter how hard you try. So know, there are going to be setbacks and bad days… and that is completely okay!
I have so much more I would like to tell you on here, but you know we have to keep these blogs in a reasonable length so you can read them quickly when you have a second, sitting on the toilet (mmhhh, you know we’ve all done it before 😁) or when you’re ready to go to bed. Therefore, I will finish it here for now 😉. This should give you a couple of steps where to start at. I can’t wait to hear how things go for you with fears you’ve been trying to overcome for a while now. You can do it!!!
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