Are you keeping your job even though it's unfulfilling? Do you stay in a dysfunctional relationship? Or do you feel dead inside? Why do you settle for less?
Maybe your fears keep you from following your plans and prevent you from fulfilling your dreams? Fear is an emotion that is present to keep us away from potential pain and danger. My friend put it in these words: “fear is a false belief that appears to be real”. Courage is the ability to persevere with something despite the feeling of fear.
When fear prevents you from fulfilling your dream
Have you ever decided to do something, only to find that the outcome wasn't what you hoped for? Maybe you told someone that you felt for him/her but your words weren't reciprocated. If so, you probably felt like a failure and therefore decided not to do the same thing again. This way, you prevent yourself from having to feel the pain of failing.
Or: At times, you might worry about something you think will happen in the future. In such instances, you experience the same emotions you would have encountered if it actually happened. Does this sound familiar?
When the fear stops you from achieving your dreams, you must fight it
You need to acknowledge that a change has to be made, and that this change depends on YOU. Once you believe you can do it, you should try to define the feeling of success as well as the feeling of failure. The goal is to change what you associate with success and failure.
Interrupt your thought pattern
If you wish to overcome the fear of failing, you should try the “erase-technique,” which involves interrupting your current thought patterns. Start by anchoring a positive emotion. You can do this by remembering how your posture normally is when you are in a positive spirit. Most people find that they would have a straight back with their head held high and their chest slightly forward. Some would also be smiling.
Then picture a situation where you failed, and play the scenario over like a film in your head. Rewind the film full-speed and smile while doing so, then forward it twice as fast. Repeat this, rewind and play as fast as you possibly can. Every time, you should picture the scenario getting more and more bizarre. Now, think of the painful memory. It should make you smile ;-)
Create a new association
Finally, you should convince yourself that you are successful and that you will succeed again and again. Hold on to this thought pattern until it feels real to you. Reward yourself and allow yourself to feel happy and proud whenever you make progress. Remember that every reinforced thought, emotion or behavior eventually will become a habit.
Courage is our ability to achieve despite of our fear
Exercising courage is like a skill you need to achieve through learning. When you build your courage, make sure you don't push yourself too hard at first. Compare it to weightlifting; you start with a challenging but realistic weight, and you work yourself up to handling heavier weights. Working like this makes you stronger. Similarly, you can start dealing with small fears and worries and train yourself to handle increasingly greater challenges. When you know how to overcome your fear and you finally accept the challenges life brings you, you will achieve results greater than you could ever imagine.
