Life has taught me many lessons about fear, and they have usually come from having to face that which scares me most. There are many people who avoid situations that would cause them fear, and there are those who have become paralyzed by it when it is unavoidable. The one thing that is important to keep in mind, is that our fears have a great deal to teach us, if we are willing to keep an open mind, and have the courage to try and face them.
Many people do not know what their fears are rooted in. They have had one as long as they can remember. They may have had one experience that they have generalized to be fearful of something globally. There are so many things that life can teach us about fear if we are willing to open our minds and consider what we can actually gain from the experience.
Many people are afraid to face their fears, and who would not be, they are scary and uncomfortable. However, if we are willing to take the chance, we can conquer them and use what we were once afraid of to motivate us.
What Life Taught Me about Facing Your Fears
1. Many of us fear serious health issues or death
We worry about what could happen to us, and how we would handle it. Speaking from experience, you can either give into the health issues or live in a constant state of fear and stress, or we can use that fear to propel us towards new goals and success.
We can channel that which we are afraid of and choose to take control of what we can, and make a difference for ourselves and others through personal life experiences, or advocacy. When we face our fears head on, we feel empowered, and capable, and we do not let illness define us.
2. Life has taught me to keep going no matter what
There are many times when we are afraid that we will not be able to achieve a goal that we have for ourselves. There are times that we are working toward something and are thrown obstacle after obstacle. We become fearful that we will not finish it, that we will feel like a failure, and that we will look incapable.
What can fear teach us here? KEEP GOING! There are so many times that people were just a few steps from success when they gave up. Learn that fear makes the success even more worthwhile, because you have not only achieved your goal, you have conquered your fear.
3. Fear can teach you to let go of that which is not important, and that which is not backed in evidence.
For example, you may be fearing that you cannot succeed in graduate school, so you do not try to attend. Fear has stopped you from even trying to achieve a goal. However, you can ask yourself, do I have any proof to support that I would not be successful at this? If you are honest with yourself, and that answer is, “No,” you should push through your fear and sign up for a class.
Perhaps try one, and once you have shown yourself that you can be successful, add more from there. In this case, you have faced your fear head on, and proven to yourself that you are stronger than your fears, and that you are not going to let them control your life.
4. Life has taught me that fear is that voice in my head that makes me doubt myself.
It is that thing that keeps us stuck where we are, prevents us from taking chances, and stunts growth. Fear causes us to play it safe, and to miss out on potential opportunities in life that could have been real growth opportunities.
However, if we choose to face our fears head on, and to work outside of our comfort zone despite them, we have the chance to show ourselves how successful we can be. These successes, small or large, can really empower us, and can start momentum of facing fears and becoming stronger than we ever thought possible.
5. Perhaps the most important lesson is that facing your fears is freedom.
What does that mean? It means that we are held prisoner by ours fears if we let them paralyze us. We miss out on opportunities, and we stunt our growth. We let something that is imagined, and often has never happened, hinder the course of our lives.
When we make the bold move to face our fears, we become powerful, not powerless. We become capable and brave. We become someone who believes in themselves and their abilities, and who is willing to push themselves further and further, because they have already proven to themselves thy can.
Life Lesson's 