Fear

One thing that I’m trying desperately to break free from is the threat of fear. Fear is a mind-gripping, success-hindering notion in your mind that tells you that you cannot or it is dangerous to do something. Sometimes fear can be rational; jumping into a tank of hungry sharks, jumping out of planes, and rock-climbing are all in fact very dangerous and may induce fear. However, fear has an amazing ability to control how you act and the decisions you make in life, keeping you from doing the things you were made to do.

For instance, when I was about 9 or 10, I had developed a fear of E.T. borne from the E.T. ride at Universal Studios. Was there a reason for this fear? No, I had never been afraid of E.T. or aliens before. There was no traumatic accident that happened during the ride. What really did it for me was a “what-if”; a hypothetical question that popped up in my mind after the ride. What if E.T. was real? What if he came in his ship one day and beamed me up, and flew off? What if he held me hostage, never to see my family again? This small “what if” grew and grew until my mind was gripped with the fear of this monstrous alien life form committing heinous acts of evil.

Yeah, this fear was totally irrational. Yes, I was only a child and many children develop these irrational fears. But it demonstrates how one tiny seed can blossom into a fortress inside your mind. Fear can really debilitate people, preventing them from truly enjoying what this planet, life, and God has to offer us. One of my main goals is to master fear in every area of my life in order to increase my chances of success in life.

Here is a fear I have that I know is commonly shared by others: the fear of what people think of you. Sometimes, I choose not to say things to people because I am afraid of the reaction or afraid of losing them as friends or family members. A rational fear? Yes, mostly. There have been plenty of times that I have said something that has hurt someone’s feelings, or angered them, or caused tension, even when the comment was appropriate or necessary. It sucks. However, I do not want that fear to control me. What do I do then? I do anything opposite of what that fear tells me not to do. I do my best to tell people how I feel. I make sure my voice is heard. I offer my honest opinion. And that’s how I am conquering my fear of honesty and others’ impressions.

I’m going to do some more posts on Fear, since it is such a barricade to success. In order to achieve success, I believe we must all conquer our fears, especially our fear of failure. I’ll also share some more of my fears as I think of them. More to come…