Fear

Fear is really empty. It appears great, it appears powerful, it may appear impossible to face or overcome. But fear is an illusion, a deception, that hurts and hinders us in so many ways in our lives. There's two kinds of fear. There's real, rational fear. The kind of fear that says "don't play in traffic" or "don't annoy venomous reptiles." It's a common sense kind of fear. It's recognizing a potential danger and anticipating a specific negative outcome. Don't play in traffic because you might get hit by a car. Don't annoy venomous reptiles because they might bite or sting you. The other kind of fear is much more vague and looming. It's the kind of fear that says "something bad will happen to me, somewhere at some time" or "if I tell the truth, I might lose my friend." It's an irrational, paralyzing kind of fear. It prevents you from moving forward in life, it hinders you from doing what's right. Sure, something bad might happen to you, but something good could happen to. Telling the truth might be difficult, but real friends will respect that. Fear says you're doomed to be lonely, poor, weak, powerless, empty, rejected, unwanted, unloved, or something like that. Fear says you're not good enough, fear says you can't handle it, fear says it will never work out well. Fear gets most of its power from the fact that it "might" be true. And often, if someone believes in their fear too strongly, it just might come true after all. Expectations and self-fulfilling prophecies are powerful in influencing what does or doesn't happen in our lives. The problem is, often fear isn't based on truth at all. But for some reason, we believe it as if it were true. Thus it gets its power over us. And it prevents us from moving forward in our lives. It paralyzes us, restricts us, limits us. In short, fear steals our freedom from us. The good news is, it doesn't have to. Fear gets all of its power from us. It only lasts for as long as we choose to believe in its deceptively false truth. It distorts our perception of reality, causing us to anticipate something bad or negative to happen. But once we choose to perceive another version of reality, where we expect good things to happen, fear begins to weaken. Once we decide to do what we need to do, even if the worst happens anyway, fear begins to weaken. Fear only really loses its power over us in one way. The moment we face our fears, it has lost all power over us. The fear rapidly dissolves away and we enter into a newfound freedom. Facing fear empowers us. The thought of facing our fears may seem incredibly frightening or difficult. That's only part of the deception. Fear only keeps its power as long as you believe in it and allow it to overpower you. Fear will hold its clutching grip over you for as long as it can. But the very moment you decide to face that fear--whatever it is--you have reclaimed that power as your own. Instantly, fear becomes powerless, and you have freed yourself from your own mental/emotional prison. Anyone can face and overcome any fears they have. It may seem difficult or even impossible at first. Remember, that's only the illusion. Face the fear. Choose to move through it. And you will overcome it. For someone who's hid or ran from their fears most of their life, it's recommended to start with the smaller fears. They appear easier to face and overcome. Start with something small, simple, and relatively easy. Choose to face the fear. Choose to deal with whatever consequences or outcomes may come from it. Remember, some fears are good and healthy. But they are specific and clear. "If I do this...that will happen." Such as, "If I eat poison, I will probably die." Listen to and respect those fears. They're rational and trustworthy. The fears you should face are less clear or specific. Such as, "If I try to follow my dreams, I might fail. What if I don't have what it takes?" Or something like "I might be rejected if I tell this person how I feel about them." The truth is, you might fail or you might succeed. You might be rejected or the person might share mutual feelings with you. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of making choices that could impact your future. Your choices might work in your favor, they might not. If they don't, take it as an opportunity to learn and grow in life. Perhaps you could share your mistake with others, so they could learn and grow from it too! Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of following your heart. It might lead to disappointment and failure. Then again, it might lead you to a self-actualized, fulfilling life. Either way, you can learn and grow from the experience. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of how others might think of you. People are constantly sharing their thoughts and opinions of each other. If people were as generous with their time and money as they were with their opinions, this world would be a much better place. But the truth of the matter is, it doesn't matter what their opinion of you is. Your opinion of you matters. And most likely, those same people will be too busy judging and critiquing others soon enough, and forget all about their assessment of you. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Fear has no place or purpose in your life. The fear that paralyzes and blinds you. It's trying to prevent you from having the most complete, fulfilling, meaningful life possible. Facing your fears won't always bring about positive outcomes. Know this in advance. Sometimes bad stuff will happen. But that's okay. You can learn and grow from everything, good or bad. The good new is, sometimes good stuff will happen too. But you won't experience any of it if you allow fear to keep you trapped in your own mental/emotional prison, forever asking yourself "what if". Be free. Face your fears
From A Friend About Fear