Fear can freeze us; stopping us from moving forward.

In this blog I share some tips tips on how to overcome our fears.

We are taught fear at a very young age.

It is a learned behaviour, therefore it can, if we wish, be educated out of us.

Fear is a way of thinking that has the ability to hinder or help our life.

What is important is to learn how to use fear to our advantage and not allow it to work against us.

There is a place for fear.

When fear shoots through our veins, constricting our blood flow – it places the body in survival mode.

It keeps us safe and stops us from taking unnecessary risks.

It is a primal and basic instinct, that sends us running out of a burning house.

Functional fear presents itself when you are in danger.

This fear is a response to a real threat and keeps you careful and alert – it stops you from getting hurt.

But as much as fear can stop you from getting burnt and even save your life, it can also stop you from moving forward.

When fear works against you it can be paralyzing.

It can make you doubt yourself and come up with lame excuses to get out of things that you’re too scared to deal with.

When you lose faith in yourself the doubting begins and the fear moves right in.

Irrational fear often shows up as worrying, when you are afraid of something that might happen in the future.

You mull over something without having any real proof that what you dread will actually eventuate.

It could be out of your control, but you still worry about the outcome.

When you suffer irrational fear, consider the real meaning of the word:

FALSE

EVIDENCE

APPEARING

REAL

It’s all a mindset and fear can be your friend if you follow these steps:

1. Identify the real issue: Find out what it is that is really getting to you.
2. Do a reality check: Ask yourself, ‘How likely is it that what I fear will actually happen?’ and ‘How bad would it be if it did?’
3. Decide whether action is needed: Ask yourself, ‘Is there something I can do to solve this problem?’
4. Take action to solve it: If you answer was ‘yes’ to the last question, then do what’s needed to solve the problem.
5. Let the worry go: You no longer need to hang onto the worry as you have either solved it, or reaslised that it is beyond your control, so there is no benefit of carrying the worry.

The first American journalist to be expelled from Nazi Germany, Dorothy Thompson once said: “Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live”.