All that stands between you and some important actions you currently need to take are your fears.
All that stands between you and some of the worthwhile ideas you want to explore, and have the money and time to explore, are also your fears.
You will have to conquer your fears to take those important actions and explore those ideas.
With anything in life, whether a new job, a new relationship, a move to a new city, or a new medical procedure, you may be anxious.
After you are in the new job or relationship, in the new city, after the medical procedure is done, the fears will no longer be there.
You will be focused on the current reality, and what's in front of you.
Fears come in many different shapes and sizes, and in many different colors.
You can be afraid of your past, or afraid to be true to yourself.
You can be afraid to speak up for what you believe is right, or afraid to speak up against what you believe is wrong.
You can be afraid to go against traditions or ideas, even if they don't seem right to you.
You can be afraid to own up to your mistakes and failings.
You can be afraid of being laughed at or ridiculed for who you are, how you live, what you think, what you have or what you don't have, what you can do or can't do, what you have to show the world.
You can be afraid of all the potential dangers in life.
There are so many things to be afraid of.
On top of which you may have fears about things like heights, closed spaces, open spaces, driving, airplane travel, certain birds, animals, or insects, and more.
All these fears can keep you from living a satisfying and meaningful life, if you let them.
A fear is usually just a belief. For example, you could believe you are bad at math, or you are bad at English, or you are bad at public speaking. Then you study for a compulsory math test, and you do just fine. You communicate in English with customer service, and you do just fine. You join Toastmasters, and you give a speech or two, and you do just fine. You learn that your fear was just a belief.
Fears can keep you from achieving your dreams. You may have strong desires, but your fears may get in the way of achieving them. Your life could be one unfulfilled dream after another after another, because of fear.
The best way to cure fears is to go forth courageously.
If you need hand-holding to do something, you may never achieve it, because there may be no hand holders available.
Courage is another word for independence. Fear - its opposite - is another word for dependence.
Another way to cure your fears is to find data to support that what you are afraid of us is not true; for example if you are afraid you may have an aneurysm in your brain, a brain MRI will show you if you are wrong to think that you have a brain aneurysm.
To do something new or unexpected, you have to trust yourself and believe in yourself, and not be afraid you will not survive it, or you will make a fool of yourself trying to do it. So what if you make a fool of yourself?
Fear can keep you self-centered.
When you are fearful, you are focused only on your own needs.
This can make you manipulative rather than assertive.
Afraid to say what you want, and be who you are, you may resort to lies and manipulation to get what you want.
You can be tempted to grab a piece of the well-being pie, or the pleasure pie, when you can, irrespective of the cost to others.
This indiscriminate grabbing which pays off sometimes, but not all the time, and usually never in the long term, may also keep you in a permanent state of jealousy, neediness, and a feeling of lack.
If you are in the fearful club, you should cancel your membership.
If you are too fearful to create your own action, or sources of pleasure or well-being, it's not worth grabbing a slice of the action created by others, if it has to be done through lies and manipulation.
You don't want to be thought of as opportunistic, time-serving, someone who causes inconvenient surprises for others, uses others, takes without giving back - all for a piece of the pleasure pie, validation pie, compliments pie, or well-being pie.
There are reasons and reasons to cancel your membership in the fearful club.
Your imagination can add new fears to your life, or it can add new opportunities.
It depends on what powers you give your imagination.
You can give it the power to make you more fearful.
Or you can give it the power to make you more confident.
True or false - we should go forth bravely in spite of our fears.
Thanks for reading and here are some suggested movies (of courage) to watch - Hacksaw Ridge, The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, Harriet, Men of Honor, Saving Private Ryan, and my all time favorite: The Shawshank Redemption.
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