Is Fear Running Your Life?
Fear. Something that every human being on earth has experienced. Yes, it is a form of protection. Its purpose is to help us identify danger, pain, and possible threats. But I strongly believe that outside the “Fight or Flight” syndrome, fear is NOT normal. If not checked, our fears will overstep its bounds and go into overdrive. Then before we know it, fear is in control and runs our life; we no longer call the shots. How do you know if you lost control?
Here are three ways you can determine if fear runs your life and what you can do to regain power back:
1). It paralyzes you.
You finally worked up the courage to give that speech. Hundreds showed up to hear you and are waiting with anticipation, but before you’re announced to walk on stage, you freeze in terror. You finally get that girl’s number, enter it into your phone, and are seconds away from pushing the green call button, but then dread gets a hold of you and… you freeze. You are in close proximity of a prominent business leader and want to introduce yourself to her, but as you take that first step towards her, anxiety wells up inside of you, and then your mind goes blank. You now find you can’t move in her direction.
Fear is a paralysis; it’ll prevent you from taking any action at all. Just before you even think about making that move a dark cloud seems to steal your courage and it reminds you of the risk you’re about to take, sending a massive, overwhelming flood of negative “what-ifs.” What if she doesn’t like you? What if you make a fool of yourself on stage? etc.
One way to combat this is to flip the “what-ifs.” If fear says, “What if she’s not interested in talking to me?” Respond, “What if she is, in fact, interested and we have a great conversation?” Defeat fear’s paralysis by thinking of a positive outcome of the situation at hand. Have faith in yourself!
2). It keeps you comfortable — too comfortable.
The comfort zone. This is where excuses are born and thrive. You cannot accomplish anything great here. Fear has a way soothing us and making us comfortable to the point we don’t even want to move forward. We let our fears convince us that the risks to accomplishing our dreams are too dangerous. So we agree and settle for less than what we deserve.
Now, this is a crucial part that all of us have faced and will continue to face until Kingdom come. This is the “fork in the road.” This is where you take the Matrix’s red pill or blue pill. Will you succumb to fear’s deal to settle? Or will you push past it and follow your dreams? How bad do you want it? Fight for it. You deserve it!
3). It kills dreams.
After you freeze up and settle in the comfort zone, this is where your dreams, goals, and aspirations begin to die. You no longer have the fight in you to pursue them. And you try your hardest to push them out of your mind. But here’s the amazing thing God created about our human spirit, dreams die hard — very hard. More than likely if your dream, goal, whatever, is still “nagging” you in the back of your mind and you still wonder “what if,” 9 times out of 10 that is your sign, your confirmation, to continue pursuing it.
I don’t think anybody is ever “fearless.” I believe fear will always be in the back of our minds taunting and reminding us of our limitations and the dangers of the risks we’re about to take before we step out. But the key to overcoming fear is to confront it — head on — each single time. And after you develop the habit of confronting fear, you’ll find that it gets easier and easier to overcome. And fear’s voice won’t be so loud anymore.
So will fear be the lord of your life? Will you submit to it each time it demands that you cease from living out your life to the fullest? You deserve the very best this life has to offer; don’t let fear rob you of it.
