Fear
Fear is the killer of dreams. The master of procrastination. The barrier to happiness.
Fear has an important purpose. Many tens of thousands of years ago it kept us safe by invoking our fight or flight response in the face of physical threats.
In today’s world, with fewer physical threats, fear often causes our bodies to overreact.
For some of us, we let fear take control of our lives, stopping us from taking part in the things that will bring us happiness because we are too scared of the “what-if.”
We all want to be happier, so it’s time we take back control and start doing the things that scare us.
Comfort is a Dangerous Thing
We all crave comfort. But sometimes our comfort zone is a danger zone. The smaller your comfort zone the more you are likely to feel “unfulfilled” and that you are missing out. But don’t worry, there is a simple solution to this — DO THE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU.
If you heard that and you started getting heart palpitations, you are in the right place. You might be sitting there thinking: “Well why would I want to expand my comfort zone? It’s comfy here”. But the thing is, the smaller your comfort zone, the more mental limitations you put on your life. And the more you allow fear to dictate your path and block your journey to increased happiness.
The list of things that scare a person is unique. For example – (share a story here)
What Happens When We Face Our Fears?
The hormone dopamine is released, causing a sensation of excitement, happiness, and achievement to race through your veins. Often, we don’t face our fears because we don’t think we are capable. Therefore, by facing our fears, we prove to ourselves that we are capable of more than we thought we were. In turn, this improves our self-confidence — a superpower far too many of us lack, despite being awesome just the way we are!
Even when you do something that scares you and you decide you don’t like it, you still get to take the lesson away with you and not be plagued with uncertainty, and you’ll still feel proud of yourself for trying. That is an invaluable gift to give yourself.
Finally, building a habit of facing our fears is like building muscle. The more you do it, the stronger it gets and the easier it is to use. By facing our smallest fears and proving to ourselves we can, we eventually make a habit of facing our fears, making us pretty much unstoppable. We might still feel scared, but we know we can push past that fear because our fear-facing muscles are pumped. So, now for the important part! Take … ACTION!
How Do You Start Doing Things That Scare You?
This is a time of year when we reflect and set goals. Why not set goals around overcoming fears to your goal setting?
1.Make a list, not just about physical fears. Leave off fears you don’t want to face or that are too expensive/dangerous etc.
2.Rank your list; least to most, or group them into mild, medium, and strong.
3.Make a plan. Choose the three smallest, decide how to tackle them, and schedule them over the next few months.
4.Keep yourself accountable.
5.Rinse and repeat.
Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway
