There can’t be a life without fear. It’s in our biology to fear and is a basic human need under critical situations. Without it survival wouldn’t be possible, as you wouldn’t fear jumping off the cliff, burn yourself to death, or never eat for the rest of your time.
An understanding of fear is essential to realize that it’s just your feelings that are directing your thoughts, not the actual reality of events, only then you will be standing in a position to analyze the reason behind your fears.
Consider your fear a cue, a signal that something needs your attention or action. Your fear is there to direct you in the right direction, it’s trying to tell you something that no longer can be avoided. Once you perceive your fears as signals, then you can drive valuable insights from them.
With the right mindset, you can leverage your fears to your advantage.
Mindset # 1 Don’t Focus on the Problem but the Solution
Most often when faced with fears, we feed ourselves with negativity by focusing on the problem. Cultivating the mindset of looking for the solution is the approach of successful people.
The late film critic Roger Ebert lost his ability to speak post surgeries for the treatment of cancer. After which his way of making a living by talking on television was not possible. And he had to communicate to his family and friends by first writing it down on paper or typing it in on the Mac, which could then be heard as a computer voice. But he found a way to continue his conversations by posting on Facebook, Twitter and started blogging at rogerebert.com.
He would write thousands and thousands of words at the speed of light about everything that he wanted to talk about, respond to the readers and this gave him an expression of his knowledge, craft, a way to be heard. He realized that his time on earth was limited and not being heard was a matter of life and death for him. He didn’t give up but found another way.
Re-adjust your perspective to look at the problems differently, they sure carry half the answer you need.
Also, we get overwhelmed by the idea of overcoming obstacles as a single giant. This kind of thinking does not help. You don’t have to think of climbing the mountain in just one go, but knowing that it’s a process, a collection of tiny steps taken consistently shifts your attention from problem to solution and makes it more manageable.
Mindset # 2 Handle Uncertainty to Gain the Courage to Face Fears
Uncertainty is one of the biggest reasons for fear. Humans are naturally inclined to feel uncomfortable when faced with the unknown. Learning to handle uncertain situations is a valuable skill to navigate through life.
I remember delaying the decision of starting writing online for around 6 months, just because I felt unclear of what the future would hold for me. How do I start a blog? How would I write when I have no experience of doing it? or How would I be consistent with a 9–5 job? These kinds of questions led me to procrastinate.
Also, if you read these questions again you realize they somehow indicate a lack of information on my part about writing online.
Ignorance feeds uncertainty.
If you aren’t sure about doing something, gain knowledge of it, look at those who are already doing it, and then decide for yourself if you really want to do it or not. This way you wouldn’t feel overwhelmed just like someone who is staring at the uncertainty without doing their homework.
Mindset # 3 Take Action Despite Inexperience to Have One
Once you have the necessary information you need to take action. You can only get so confident by gaining knowledge, taking action leads to certainty. Action is the proof of things working out. Even if they don’t, you would be mature to not follow that trajectory rather changing your strategy would be the next step.
Only thinking does not take you from your bedroom to your bathroom, you must move your body to make it happen. Similarly turning fear into fuel requires action. After a mindset shift, comes the demand to sustain that shift. Action leads to the sustainability of the right mindset. Moving in the direction of fears makes you conquer them. You don’t have to be free from fear for taking action, no one can be free from their fears, it’s just a matter of courage to push ourselves beyond the comfort zone. Each tiny effort will give you the pleasure of taking action and the courage to keep going.
As these tiny action steps stack upon each other, they become an action plan that could become the most valuable asset of your life that you can leverage even further by being a role model for those that are starting on the same journey as you once did.
It sure is difficult to take action and stare right in the eyes of your fears but abandoning to take action just because of the fear of failure wouldn’t take you anywhere. Rather if you fail you would be wiser the next time you move towards your goal with a revised and revamped strategy. With inaction, you would be stuck where you are while the world moves ahead and grows, which eventually would make you feel left behind.
Wrap-Up
Failure is that part of life- if you resent it, it will become a negative reference for the future but if you face your fears and sit with it, it will become a positive driving force for times to come. Learning from our mistakes, knowing that we tried, and chasing our dreams with passion & derive is the attitude that’s needed for creating a successful life.
Fear is just your thoughts blocking your way to freedom. Once you decide to embark on the journey to break free from fear and understand your thinking patterns & linked emotions you set yourself up for a life that turns fear into fuel for a truly meaningful life experience.
