Fear – The Villain In The Corner

We make all kinds of excuses for why we don’t do the things in life that are most important to us…

• Not today, but we’ll get to it
• I don’t have enough knowledge or expertise
• I just need to investigate or study things a little more
• I don’t have enough support yet
• I don’t have the time
• It takes too much money
• It just can’t be done

Problem is that these excuses are just smoke screens for what the real obstacle is…FEAR!

What do we fear?

• We fear failing (and how that makes us look or feel) 
• We fear succeeding (and the responsibility and impact on others that may bring)
• We fear being embarrassed
• We are afraid of not being able to handle rejection
• We are deathly afraid that this may be our last chance
• We are afraid of losing what we already have
• We are fearful of the unknown

Getting Past Fear 

Getting past fear is so critically important to making progress in our lives that it is one of the 4 pillars of focus inside SNAP:  Getting Unstuck And Ahead In Your Life

Fortunately your reaction to fear is completely controllable, you can learn to NOT let fear stop you from succeeding massively in your life.

Here are 5 ways to tackle fear and wrestle it to its knees.

1. So Driven That Fear Is Smothered

When you are driven by a big enough WHY…a massively, self-directed, obsession based purpose in your life will be such an empowering force that the negative aspects of fear will become a tiny mouse compared to the giant goliath that it seems to be right now in your life (and has been in the past).  Being driven is a big part of pushing past fear

2. Change Your Beliefs Around What You Fear

Fear wins out when you support it with beliefs that allow it to rise above all else in your life.  If you fear giving up your favorite foods (and the comfort those bring you) such that you are unable to stick to a weight loss plan then you need to tackle that fear specifically.  Work on replacing your fear of losing out on comfort foods with a combination of beliefs that you can still have SOME of those comfort foods AND that you can become stronger by breaking your dependence on these unhealthy foods.  Suddenly you are sucking the life out of your fear

3. Take Action

Fear compounds when given time and focus.  In other words, if you sit and stew about your fear, build up scenarios that exaggerate the negative possibilities of the situation you fear then it takes on a massive new life and can take over your reality.  On the other hand, if you refuse to give fear your focus and instead take action that interrupts and disrupts that fear then you are keeping it small and making more progress, giving yourself more confidence along the way.

4. Build Up Your Self-Confidence

A good deal of what we fear has to do with our own beliefs and how much faith we have in our own ability to deal with the good, bad and ugly in life.  If we have a poor self image, see ourselves as weak, have adopted a “victim” mentality then we have defeated our ability to resist fear .  By having confidence in our ability to face anything in life, to learn and grow from setbacks and challenges we embrace our strength while fear withers and dries up.

5. Open Up To Others 

The other main category of fear we have in life is being dependent on a small sphere of others for our own self-worth, happiness and direction in life.  Abusive relationships are a perfect example of this.  The fear of abandoning an abusive partner is often higher than the fear of staying with them even when they are being abusive toward you.  That’s how BIG and destructive fear can be on our lives.  This often happens because we have adopted a “me against the world” mentality which may serve us in very short periods of our life, but eventually sow’s the seeds for being all alone and fearful of losing ANYONE (even negative forces) in our life.  Instead, embrace the good in people, consciously seek to network and learn from people who you admire and look up to choosing to leave negative people behind.

There is no self improvement, personal development or growth without tackling fear.  

For many, fear is the single, most powerful obstacle that sits between them and an incredible future – learn to shrink fear and that future will be yours…continue to allow fear to rule your life and you will find that amazing future continues to be out of reach no matter how hard you may try.