Don’t Be Paralyzed by Fear

Normal amounts of fear and insecurity are human nature and allow you to stay protected and safe. We have all experienced both large and small amounts of fear throughout our daily lives that have impacted our mental and physical health. Fear has the ability to bring about physical symptoms like sweaty palms, a racing heart, or even a churning stomach. It can alter our brain function and cause us to feel chronic stress throughout our daily lives.

Sometimes fear can save our lives and play a huge role in the outcome of a situation, but other times it can hold us back from our dreams and aspirations. We learn fear through personal experiences or observations that then become triggers in similar future situations.

How Does Fear Impact Your Life?

Have you ever been in a meeting where you were too scared to say your great idea because of the possibility of judgement? Have you ever been afraid to present to a group of audience because you might forget what you were going to say? These are just a couple of the fears that the majority of adults are faced with on a daily basis. These fears can become so strong that they can hold people back from ever-advancing on their career path or enjoying the work that they do.

If you can think of times where your self-talk has prevented you from doing something, you have probably felt paralyzed by fear at one time or another. When you are afraid to take risk and step out of your comfort zone, fear is getting in the way of living a fulfilling life.

If you are constantly focusing on what will happen tomorrow or anticipating the future, you most likely are allowing fear to control your life and get in the way of your deepest desires. Preventing yourself from being present in the moment impedes your possibility of success. This is a negative self-fulfilling prophecy that millions of people face all around the world.

Ways to Let Go of Fear

By identifying and pinpointing what triggers fear in your mind, you can understand and come to terms with the things that scare you the most. When you recognize and write down the fear, you will slowly be able to eliminate it by relating different situations back to your deeply rooted fear. This technique takes a lot of time and practice but will allow you to be more prepared for future situations and will give you the ability to let go of things that have held you back for years. When you are no longer afraid, you can step out of your comfort zone and accomplish things that you normally would have avoided.

Another way to let go of fear is by tricking yourself into understanding your strengths. By recognizing what you are good at and where you are most talented, you can replace thoughts of fear and avoidance with reasons why you are capable. This is a form of self-talk that allows you to learn self-confidence and utilize your strengths. When you can replace one thought of fear with three things that you are really good at, your brain will feel confident and prepared to take on the tasks that scare you the most.

For example, millions of people around the world are terrified of public speaking. Some reasons may be that they are afraid to mess up, they are afraid of being judged by the audience, or they are afraid that they will forget what they had planned to say. When you analyze each of these fears and replace them with strengths, they no longer seem as realistic. For example, if you are afraid to forget your train of thought, tell yourself that you have a very strong memory, you perform well under pressure, and are able to remember your conversations with others every day.

These are just a couple of the many techniques that allow you to release fear and prevent it from paralyzing you.

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