Face Your Fears

Fear is an acronym for – False Evidence Appearing Real and this can be applied to all our fears. We all have them – so what is it you’re afraid of?
Is it -
• Fear of public speaking – identified as the No 1 fear for most peoplen • Making decisionsn • Changing jobs – or any changen • Growing olde
• Being alonen • Successn • Failuren • Losing a loved one.
• Dyingn • Making a commitment.

Some of us are more afraid of success than of failure. Believe it or not it’s right up there with fear of public speaking.

I think I was one of those. I was always going to write articles or even a book when the time was right. When the ideas were properly organized in my mind and in my many notebooks. When I had time, when I had a real space in which to write and on and on. Well one day I said “Enough. I cant wait for everything to be right before I begin so as the ad says Just Do It”.

If fear of public speaking is one of your fears, join the local branch of Toastmasters. Here you will learn the art of public speaking in a supportive environment where you will get creative feed back on speeches you make.

You may have read my articles on The Power of Positive Belief and changing your Self Limiting Beliefs. If not you will almost certainly have read about these two life changing tools in some medium. These are the two tools to most help you overcome your fears.

So here are some steps to help you face and overcome your fears:n Write down your fears – when you see them on paper they lose some of their power.n Decide which two of these fears you most want to conquer. Remember it’s too easy to overwhelm yourself with change. Take on a small number and when you have conquered those, take on some more. Remember to reward yourself when you have conquered a fear.n Change your self talk – don’t reinforce the fact that you fear flying, dying or whatever it is. Listen to what you say to yourself and also listen to what comes out of your mouth. n You attract to you that which you think about most. So when you begin to think about your fear change the thought to an affirmation – I enjoy flying; or I love to write. If decision making is your fear tell yourself “I can’t lose whatever decisio
I make”.
Affirmations may sometimes sound like you are being fraudulent (oh who do you think you’re kidding) but over time the little voice in the back of your head will be quiet. n So turn up to the page to write your article; talk about dying with your close friends and relatives; volunteer at a hospice near you; make that decision – you can always change it; joi
Toastmasters or another club; spend time with older people and see how much they are enjoying this time in their life.

And above all act as if it is. This is not the same as fake it till you make it. People will soon see through that.

If you feel brave enough look for situations where you can face your fear. nn Volunteer to give the thank you speech to the guest speaker at the next club meeting. n Put aside some time to be alone. Here you can clearly determine what you enjoy on your own – is it reading, walking, swimming?n Get involved in a club where you can meet new peoplen Start looking for a change of job – attend interviews and be preparedn Join a club so that you don’t have to always be alone. There will be at least one in your neighbourhood that attracts youn If commitment is your fear then commit to somebody for a short time – say one week – then extend that commitment to two, three and more weeks. If it works out great, if not you can try again with another person.

Take back your power. With positive thinking and affirmations we know we can change anything and any situation. My favourite mantra is “If you can conceive it and believe it you will achieve it.”

Remember too, that nothing happens without action and in this instance it has to be action on your part. Take things slowly, take your time and enjoy the process if you can. You’ll never know if you are a success or failure until you try. And facing and overcoming your fears although scary can be very liberating. Try it.