Fearless Friday: Overcoming Your Fears

What are you afraid of? Or do you lack fear? Even the bravest person you know had to overcome their fears at some point. Are you like me and afraid of spiders? Or Maybe you are more like my husband and afraid of heights? Maybe you fear failing or maybe you just fear the unknown.  Sometimes we don't realize how much ours fears can hold us back in life. That's why we should confront them head on and own up to our fears in the pursuit of overcoming them.  That may sound impossible to some of you, depending on what your fears are but you can learn to overcome them. You will need to understand what your fear is.

The better you're able to understand what you fear, the better your chances of feeling less anxious about it. You can challenge your negative or unrealistic thoughts about the things you fear by learning more about them. Learn to recognize what you are afraid of. Our society teaches us to be strong and brave and fearless. How can you be courageous without having to overcome some kind of fear? Take control and own up to it. Sometimes fear is easily recognizable, we shake or scream or cower in the face of it. Other times it is harder to pin point. When you feel it overcoming you, write it down and give it a name.  Do this every time you are fearful. Start a journal and reference it each time you are faced with a problem or fear you need to overcome. Every time fear comes your way just make up your mind about it and it will dissolve away. 

How does this happen? Well when you think about it there is really no battle to fight, except of your own making! What I'm referring to is your almost automatic response to fight your fear. Reaction to thoughts is what keeps people constantly sensitized. They become so afraid of their own reaction to the thought that they will do everything they can to fight it, to try and stop it.  This is where your journal comes into play, it will allow you to learn from your past experiences and train yourself to deal with them in the best way you can. Accepting fear is a part of life and the first step to getting over your fears. And just like actors use stage fright, you can actually use fear to motivate you into action.  Only you can help yourself overcome your fears, or at least reduce their impact on your life. You will need to be vigilant in confronting your fears. If, however, you lose faith and become discouraged, the best thing you can do is to start over and keep on moving.