What scares you? Learning how to
overcome fears of failure can be challenging for everyone.
Fortunately, all fears are learned.
No one is born with fears. Fears can therefore, be unlearned by practicing
self-discipline repeatedly with regard to fear until it goes away.
The most common fears that we
experience, which often sabotage all hope for success, are the fear of failure,
poverty, and loss of money.
These fears cause people to avoid
risk of any kind and to reject opportunity when it is presented to them. They
are so afraid of failure that they are almost paralyzed when it comes to taking
any chances at all.
There are many other fears that
interfere with our happiness.
- People fear the loss of love or
- People fear the loss of their jobs and their financial security.
- People fear embarrassment or ridicule.
- People fear rejection and criticism of any kind.
- People fear the loss of respect or esteem of others.
These and many other fears hold us
back throughout life…
Here are a few techniques to help
you overcome your fears and fuel your success:
Fear
Paralyzes Action
The most common reaction in a fear
situation is the attitude of, “I can’t!”
This is the fear of failure that
stops us from taking action. It is experienced physically, starting in the pit
of your stomach.
When people are really afraid, their
mouth and throat go dry, their heart starts pounding. Sometimes they breathe
shallowly and their stomach churns.
These are all physical
manifestations of the inhibitive negative habit pattern, which we all
experience from time to time.
Fear
Shuts Our Brain Down
Whenever a person is in the grip of
fear, he feels like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. This fear
paralyzes action. It often shuts down the brain and causes the individual to
revert to the “fight-or-flight” reaction.
Fear is a terrible emotion that
undermines our happiness and can hold us back throughout our lives.
Visualize
Yourself as Unafraid
By visualizing yourself performing
with confidence and competence in an area where you are fearful, your visual
image will eventually be accepted by your subconscious mind as instructions for
your performance.
Your self-image, the way you see
yourself and think about yourself, is eventually altered by feeding your mind
these positive mental pictures of yourself performing at your best.
Practice
Acting “As If”
By using the “act as if” method, you
walk, talk, and carry yourself exactly as you would if you were completely
unafraid in a particular situation.
You stand up straight, smile, move
quickly and confidently, and in every respect act as if you already had the
courage that you desire.
Use
the Law of Reversibility
The Law of Reversibility says that
“If you feel a certain way, you will act in a manner consistent with that
feeling.”
But if you act in a manner
consistent with that feeling, even if you don’t feel it, the Law of
Reversibility will create the feeling that is consistent with your actions.
This is one of the greatest
breakthroughs in success psychology. You develop the courage you desire by
disciplining yourself repeatedly to do the thing you fear until that fear
eventually disappears—and it will.
Confront
Your Fears Immediately
Your ability to confront, deal with,
and act in spite of your fears is the key to happiness and success.
One of the best exercises you can
practice is to identify a person or situation in your life of which you are
afraid and resolve to deal with that fear situation immediately.
Do not allow it to make you unhappy
for another minute. Resolve to confront the situation or person and put the
fear behind you.
Move
Toward the Fear
When you identify a fear and
discipline yourself to move toward it, it grows smaller and more manageable.
What’s more, as your fears grow
smaller, your confidence grows. Soon, your fears lose their control over
you.
In contrast, when you back away from
a fear-inducing situation or person, your fear grows larger and larger.
Soon it dominates your thinking and
feeling, preoccupies you during the day, and often keeps you awake at night.
Deal
With the Fear Directly
The only way to deal with a fear is
to address it head-on.
Remind yourself that, “Denial” is
not a river in Egypt.
The natural tendency of many people
is to deny that they have a problem caused by fear of some kind. They’re afraid
of confronting it. In turn, it becomes a major source of stress, unhappiness,
and psychosomatic illness.
Be willing to deal with the
situation or person directly.
As Shakespeare said, “Take arms
against a sea of troubles, and in so doing, end them.”
When you force yourself to face any
fear-inducing situation in your life, your self-esteem goes up, your
self-respect increases, and your sense of personal pride grows.
You eventually reach the point in
life where you are not afraid of anything.
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