”The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” said the great F.D. Roosevelt.
Translated into our regular language it would mean that the emotion of fear, rather than the reality of what we fear, is actually causing us destructive feelings of stress, anxiety, unhappiness and ultimately meaningless life in the longer run.
The fact is that the fear is, and always has been, the greatest enemy of mankind. Unfortunately, nobody taught us about this. Yet, it’s never too late to learn and make progress in our personal development rather than complaining and blaming everyone and everything to justify ‘our fears’. (‘‘fear of keeping or losing job” always inspire me to tackle with the challenge of the fear).
Now, the good news is that the habit of courage can be learned – not easy but feasible with your commitment and motivation to face with your fears. The first thing you need to do in this transformation process is to examine the factors that trigger your fear.
The root source of most fear starts always in childhood usually associated with destructive criticism. This causes us to develop two major types of fear; First one is fear of failure(”How can I do it? I simply can not. I am not smart enough’‘) – The second one is fear of rejection, (”I have to to this or that”) . Consequently, these ‘entities’ and ‘little voices’ we constantly hear, paralyses us.
This mental paralysis results from keeping us stagnant, basically from taking constructive action towards our goals, dreams,….
I realize by studying this phenomena of fear came to know that fear is caused only and exclusively by our ignorance. I am personally convinced that the ignorance is a root cause of all the evil that can be eradicated only by knowledge. Hence, it is our duty and moral obligation to educate ourselves, as well as masses around us, as much tough and rude it may sound to you, but that’s the way it is folks. Hence, educate yourself!
Let me explain what I mean -fear caused by ignorance – I mean that, when you or me have limited or incomplete or even worse distorted information, doubts overwhelm us instantly. Hence, we turn into insecure and doubtful concerning the outcome of whatever action we do actually. Did you know that precisely the ignorance primarily causes us to fear change we would so much like to experience but ”I can’t”. So, we fear the unknown and avoid to start anything new or change ‘old’ contra-productive and self-sabotaging habits.
What can you do? First, identify the major factors that cause you to feel afraid. Next, try to objectively define and analyse your personal fears. Don’t worry, we’re all afraid of something. I mean being a courageous person does not mean that that person is unafraid.
Take a list of paper and simply list all fears both, those ‘small’ and ‘big’ that causes you stress, anxiety and ultimately fear. Then, analyse these fears that might be holding you back whether on private or professional aspect of your life and causing you anxiety and actually meaningless life. Once you have written down your fears, arrange them in order of importance, and then pick them apart one by one.
You see, my philosophy is that once we recognize and work ourselves on fears that we should
not be afraid of fear, but embrace it. One shouldn’t get worked up or upset over their anxieties but recognize them as opportunities. Hence, instead of complaining to someone about something scary we face, we should see it as a positive experience instead of a negative emotion.
My advice to you: Realize that no matter what you do, you won’t obtain unanimous approval. Therefore never let the fear of disapproval of others prevent you from doing the right thing. Lack of approval will only distress you if you allow it to. Ultimately, any emotional power anyone has over you is the power you decide to give that person.
