You cannot keep running away from your fears. At some point in life, you will have to build up the courage to face and overcome them.
Overcoming fear is not an easy thing to do. Fear retains us from living. It convinces us that we can never accomplish our dreams, it tell us to keep quiet and separate from the ones we love. It has an enormous ability to limit what we are willing to try and freeze us in our tracks, making us to lead a smaller life.
Fear is not really a bad thing. It exists for our protection as an early warning signal, but there is a big difference between the one who is healthy, that tells us to step away from an edge of a cliff, and a constant fear that keeps us from living our life. The problem comes when most people cling to their fears because it’s a part of who they are. If you aren’t ready to face your fears, you will probably never overcome them.
KNOW IF AND WHEN YOUR FEARS ARE IRRATIONAL
Fear is a survival instinct that we develop to help us avoid danger. This kind of fear can be named more like “caution”, which is obviously necessary for a healthy dose.
Irrational fears, on the other hand, are those fears that stop us from doing things that carry little to no actual risk. You have to learn to differentiate the two of them. When faced with something new, we often fixate on the worst-case scenarios, and we think that by avoiding the “risk” is the only certain way to avoid our failure. You should instead focus on the positive, and put everything you have into ensuring your success.
So, the best thing to do is to examine the reasons behind the fears, ask yourself if it is a caution or irrational fear, and focus on the positive.
CREATE STRUCTURE
If it is a new situation that is causing you worries, build structure into your schedule to create safety. Structure gives us a sense of security because in that way we know what to expect, and creates the comfort in something familiar. So, if you take control of what you can, you will have a good starting place from which to face the things you can’t control.
ALWAYS BE PREPARED
One another important technique when we speak about overcoming fear is to prepare yourself. One of the reasons that we worry about doing things is that we feel unprepared. Learn to prepare, because when we attempt a challenge without adequate preparation, our anxieties kick in and we are more likely to fail. A proper preparation can give you the confidence that you need to obtain your goals.
It is important though, to realize that you can never be 100% prepared for anything. But don’t let this to become an excuse for not trying.
CONNECT WITH OTHERS
All fears, no matter if they are big or small, are worse when we face them alone. Find a good friend or someone from your family to share your fears with. Someone you can trust and who can be able to see what you’re afraid of in a new light. Someone who will be there to stand by you and encourage you as you face your fears.
FACE YOUR FEARS
Finally, the last step is to actually face your fears. Let go of looking stupid, feeling embarrassed, being ignored and facing failure or rejection. Accept the failure as a part life and get through it and over it.