Fear is Your Friend
Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, says, “Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” When we start to consider that, we might be motivated to figure out and even redefine our fears.
Lately, with all the Coronavirus issues ascending on us, fear has come front and center in our lives. Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, staying out crowds, and so much more have become a type of safety net to many. It may be a good time to consider fear.
Just What is Fear?
Fear is usually at the root of all our past baggage. It may be a fear of failing. A fear of looking stupid or weak. A fear of being wrong. A fear of confrontation. A fear of speaking your truth. A fear of being physically hurt. A fear of dying. A fear of not being heard. A fear you might hurt someone’s feelings. A fear of reliving your past. A fear of financial lack. And, the biggie—fear of the unknown.
The problem with fear is that it is a blank spot—an unconscious misunderstanding or lack of understanding probably from our childhood. We just find ourselves not wanting to act or go down a new path and not sure why. We may distract ourselves with overwork, drugs (legal & illegal, alcohol, food. We find excuses like it is other people’s fault or a multitude of other reasons why we can’t move forward.
Yet, fear can be your friend.
What Do I Mean—Fear Can Be Your Friend?
Like all of life’s challenges, when you lean into what you can learn from anything getting in your way, you will experience a life-changing boost in your journey.
My early life was actually filled with all those fears I mentioned above. In one of my research modes, I began to investigate fear. As is typical in my research mode things, started to show up. Friends started to talk about their fears. Quotes caught my attention.
“Thinking will not overcome fear but action will.” W. Clement Stone
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” Mark Twain
“We fear violence less than our own feelings. Personal, private, solitary pain is more terrifying than what anyone else can inflict.” Jim Morrison
“Fear makes us feel our humanity.” Benjamin Disraeli
One day it came to me—my new definition of fear—God tapping on my shoulder saying that if I walked into my fear, I would gain the reward of a new awareness of how life worked and how people ticked. That caught my attention big time and changed my life.
Fear became like a friend. Any time I felt fear I did what I feared and, yes, I always was rewarded. One by one my fears began to disappear. And they continue to do so in the present. Your fears can do the same.
Ways to Redefine Your Fear
Give these ideas some thought:
- Set an intention to redefine fear.
- Don’t fight it – surrender to its teaching.
- Identify what you are afraid of and find where it started.
- Activate your curiosity objectively.
- Journal until the fearful issue reveals itself.
- Talk with someone to gain a new perspective.
- Do some research on managing fears.
- See failure as only feedback.
- Focus on what you are grateful for.
