Facing Up to Your Fears

 

We usually feel fear when we get frustrated, when our self-esteem is threatened, or when we feel pressured to perform beyond our perceived capability. Unhealthy fear is debilitating; healthy fear is mobilizing. But no matter what kind of fear you experience, it requires your immediate attention, or you risk cowering behind your full potential for the rest of your life.

Fighting fear is futile

Acknowledge that it’s there, and move on: How can I make singing this song an enjoyable experience? Now your mind has something else to focus on!

Don’t fight it, instead face it, but like an ex-lover, it is something you can definitely let go of. Like a ghost in your past, tell it that you don’t have to be afraid of the things you were afraid of in the past or as a child anymore.

Reality vs. Fantasy

Learn to differentiate obvious, realistic threats from unrealistic fears that you may just be magnifying or catastrophizing.

Fear is a normal emotion and its purpose is to protect us from threats and dangers in our environment, like naturally backing off when we are near the edge of a cliff. This is real and you must act on it for your safety’s sake.

But more often than not, our perceived threats are very far from our immediate circumstance, and our most imagined fears don’t come true at all in real life.

Letting our imagined fears rule our lives cause us to miss out on great opportunities, hamper how we carry out our responsibilities, and cause us to dismiss people and situations that could otherwise make our lives richer and more fulfilling.

Measure your fear in inches

Play out your most realistic fears and imagine the worst-case scenario. What are the odds of it happening and what can you do to prepare yourself for it in case it happens?

If this fear comes true, would its effects be permanent or temporary? Is it normal and inevitable such as natural death or growing old, or far-fetched like being abducted by aliens? On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad are the consequences of this fear?

Gathering objective data about your fear can help put it in its proper perspective in your life rather than let it remain some mystical terror which you magnify and shudder unreasonably from, which leads you to the next tip…

Take action

The best way thing to do in facing up to your fears is doing something concrete about it. While you can’t eliminate the root cause of every fear you have, doing something about what’s within your power will make you realize that you’re not completely powerless to just succumb to it either.

Things like having a fire extinguisher in your house, taking good care of your health, parking in well-lit areas and locking your car, preparing well for a performance or speech, or starting out small if you’re shy or afraid to swim, taking up hypnosis or relaxation classes, you get the idea. Doing something can spell the difference between conquering your fears or letting it conquer you.

Knowledge is power

Often the reason we fear is because we are afraid of the unknown. When you’re dealing with what you don’t know, potential consequences seem far worse than they actually are. Take the power out of your fear by understanding it.

Map out all the potential outcomes, both good and bad, to get a genuine understanding of the risk of it happening and the benefits if it’s prevented. Analyzing these outcomes will help you see clearer through your fear and empower you to manage it better, like recovering from surgery or living with cancer, for example.

Faith is good for you

Last but not the least, people who trust in a Being or natural order higher than themselves in things they have no control over are scientifically proven to be healthier, less stressed, and have more peace of mind than those who have no one or nothing but themselves to rely on.

Whether it is trust in a supreme being, karma, or the universe, fear is lessened in the expectation that things will always work out for the greater good in the end.

Faith acknowledges that fear is very real, but trusting that someone bigger is still in control when you aren’t anymore will definitely make it easier for you face your fear and eventually let go of it