Fear is something we use to protect ourselves. When we enter into an unknown area, our sense of fear increases. We want to survive to live another day. In this way, fear can help us determine whether we should move forward or go somewhere else.
But that same fear can hold us back from experiences that may advance our lives. People fear the unknown. Most will need to venture into the unknown to accomplish their goals or to get out of unwanted situations.
One way to overcome fear is to read about others who have faced similar situations like the one you fear. See what steps they took and try to fit what they did to what you would like to do. Not every solution will be viable, but if you search for multiple ideas from different people, you may find a set of ideas that will work.
Know that usually most of what we fear is not as bad as we first believe. In other words, when we try something out that we were afraid to try, we may discover it was much easier than we thought it would be. This won’t happen in every case, but with a fair majority, it will. Think about those times when you said to yourself, “that wasn’t so bad!” There are likely to be many of those in your life.
Create a vision of what your situation would be if your fear were removed. Continue this vision for as long as it takes to reduce or eliminate your fear. The very act of believing the fear is not real can help convince your mind that there is nothing to be afraid of.
There are circumstances where we should take heed of our fears. Jumping out of a 50-story building is going to kill you unless you are somehow very lucky. These kinds of fears must be respected and acknowledged. Other fears, like asking for a raise, buying a stock for the first time, or starting a new business, all have the potential of positive outcomes. These are the types of fears that we need to try and overcome.
Fear can cripple people in other ways. For instance, if you have a lot of experience in your job, you can get caught up in avoiding new experiences since you’ve already “done it all.” Your experience tells you that these new situations will not work. This is also the reason why inexperienced people try things without fear. They have no bias associated with it.
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