Bertrand Russel famously said, "to conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom." We all fear one thing or another in our life, from time to time, and it is natural. Sadly, for many of us, our fears act as the roadblocks in our success journey. Author and blogger Leo Babauta once conducted a Twitter survey asking his followers what fear is holding them back, and the responses included: 

• failure
• abandonment/rejection
• intimacy
• success
• being broke
• not being good enough

He says "having the fear is natural, letting it stop you from going after your dreams is a tragedy". So here is how to tackle your worst fears and chase your dreams:

1. Acknowledge your fear 

The first step in solving any problem is acknowledging the existence of the problem. In most of us, our fears are hidden at the back our mind, unnoticed. Since thinking about them or dealing with them makes us anxious and stressful, we ignore them and pretend that they don't exist. It is time, to be honest with yourself, acknowledge the fear, because as much as we try to run away from it, they affect us every day. 

2. Feel the fear 

Now that you have acknowledged the existence of the fear, it is time to feel it. If you are embarrassed or uncomfortable in dealing with your fear, understand that you are not alone. All you need is a simple Google search to find hundreds or thousand of others sharing your fears. Similarly, you don't have to be embarrassed about your fears as well, even the greatest men of history were victims of fear like Napolean Bonaparte and his fear of cats. 

So, feel the fear, feel the physical sensation of the fear. Is your heart beat rising? Are your breaths getting deeper than they used to be? Understand these are all happening within you, in your body. It is a part of you, so have to control it rather than being controlled by the fear. 

...[ Continue to next page ]

Share This Post