How to Face Your Fears?
The ability to face fear is important for spiritual well-being
So many fears, phobias and anxieties are part of our lives. We all experience negative emotions. Anxiety and turmoil simply invade our minds. We are afraid to speak in public, to express our point of view, to make decisions. We are afraid of losing a loved one or we are afraid to end a relationship. We fear failure, disease, water, animals, heights, loneliness and more.
We all dream of overcoming our fear, of freeing ourselves, of being brave; because fear, probably the most primitive of our dispositions, is the root of many evils. We have different fears. Some seem more superficial, others deeper.
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt
When we feel extreme fear, the brain is overwhelmed by sensations and we lose our ability to analyze and reason. When our lives are suddenly endangered, we react instinctively. We don’t have time to think. We act, and then we are amazed at the courage we have shown. Pure fear triggers the automatic survival reaction of run or fight.
It seems that the cause of fear is well hidden in everyone’s mind. The mind creates negative scenarios without asking us if we are prepared for them or not. When we don’t know what’s next, we automatically create scenarios. The mind divides information. The mind is a collection of memories from the past, from which images are constructed.
“The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven.” — John Milton
The ability to face fear is important for spiritual well-being. Fear reminds us of the balance we must maintain between exploring the world around us and self-preservation.
The world of the fearful is populated by ferocious animals and full of bottomless precipices. To overcome fear, we must learn to tame the beasts, smooth the rugged terrain, and close the gaps.
“The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
— Nelson Mandela
Remember: everything is psychological. Something needs to be done about your mind. Put your fears aside and look at reality directly, immediately, face to face, and you will have no problem. Reality has not caused any problems. I’m here, you’re here. I don’t see any problem. If I get sick, I get sick. What should I worry about? Why should I make a fuss? If I die, I die.
A problem needs space. At the moment, there is no space. Things just happen; you don’t have time to think about it. You can think of the past because there is a distance. You can think about the future because there is a distance. In fact, the future and the past are created only to give us room to worry. And the more space you have, the more worried you are.
“Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it.”
— Bill Cosby
There are many effective ways to overcome fear. So don’t be afraid of fear! The first and simplest way is the ladder method. Make a list of your fears, arranging them in ascending order. Put your foot on the first step of the fear ladder: start with what scares you the least. Face your fears in that order.
