How to Deal With your Fears

Most of your decisions in life are driven by your fears.

You either do something because you’re not fearful or you don’t do something because of your fears.

Sometimes, the things you don’t do because of your fears end up being missed opportunities.

Basically, some of your fears are limiting your full potential.

Of course, not all fears are bad. People stop at the red light because they either fear a potential car accident or a traffic ticket.

This kind of fear saves lives and makes our societies function to a certain point.

Fears exist for survival. To fear a grizzly bear when you’re in the forest is a good thing that helps you not get killed.

Let’s put those good fears aside and get back to those that are limiting possibilities.

You see, life is not about beating your fear. Ignoring your fears won’t work either. So what can you do with them?

Before you learn how to deal with your fears, you need to have self-awareness about their existence.

But how do you become self-aware?

Seeing is believing. Make yourself a drink, sit down on a comfy chair and start writing down a list of your top 5 fears.

These could include some of the most popular ones like fear of public speaking, fear of flying or fear of being judged.

To get to know your fears you need to find the ones that are unique to you. Go deeper, to get the real answer ask the WHY question 5 times for each of them.

Once you face your fears, you’re no longer being controlled by them. You now have some control over them and that starts by recognizing them.

Next, you need to embrace them. WHAT??? Yep, you don’t fight them, you don’t declare war, you open your arms and take them as they are.

When you embrace your fears, you get to be in charge. You decide on what happens to them.

Within each of your fears lies an enormous amount of energy and that’s why you need to take that energy and put it to work instead of avoiding it.

Your fears can serve you and take you to places you never thought was possible. Your fear of writing could turn you to an amazing writer and your fear of public speaking could make you an awesome speaker.

Anything is possible when you harness the power of your fears.

But this won’t happen overnight. It takes time and you need to take small actions often to build the confidence you need. When walking in a dark tunnel, you need to visualize the light at the end.

Dream big but start small. Make a move, face one fear at a time and give each of them the attention they need so you can leverage their power.

I hope this has inspired you to stop avoiding your fears or hiding from them. Fears can be like nuclear power. They can destruct and they can also construct. But the key is in your hand and you can control that power.

I wrote this piece as part of a 90-day challenge I took on to get better at this type of writing. To learn more about me you can visit my website here.