Eliminating Fear
Fear. Just the word alone is powerful. Our non-phobic fears originate from our base instincts for survival. Fear of dangerous animals, for example. We are hard-wired to recognize and fear things that can eat us. And, there are many more clear examples of instinctual fear.
But we also must deal with emotional fears. These are fears that have nothing to do with our survival or safety. They are reasonable and unreasonable fears we create for all kinds of situations. The fear of speaking in public, for example. Speaking in public will not harm us, but we do put ourselves at risk of judgement or ridicule for what we say, and that fear of non-acceptance can keep us from doing so.
Any risk we take, whether it be an investment, life choice, or storming a machine gun nest, can create fear. We recognize the risk and usually must wrestle some fear. If you don’t have a little fear, you are probably not risking anything. But being in fear or afraid for any reason can also be crippling. It can stop us from achieving great things.
So, how do you eliminate fear and keep it from holding you back? You can’t. You can not eliminate fear without removing the risk. And, if you risk nothing, you gain nothing.
It is a misconception that brave or daring people have no fear. They face the same fears as any reasonable person would. They simply choose to move forward despite the fear. They do not ignore it. If it were that easy, then every time someone told you, ‘Don’t be afraid’, you would just choose to stop being fearful. But we all know that doesn’t happen.
We must recognize and accept our fears. We must face them head on. We must choose to advance, even though our fears remain. We do not always show them, as most do not see them as a strength, but rather a weakness. But we all have them, spoken or not.
So be afraid, just do not allow your fear to own you. You must own it. Own your fears.
This entry is in response to a challenge from one of my readers. John is an avid traveler and explorer. Although he shares my love for two wheels, his travel blog is not limited to one mode of transportation and offers unique perspective and photos of places off the beaten path at www.travellingstranger.com. I was challenged to write an entry that was informative, entertaining, or enlightening in some way, with a maximum length of 350 words (which some consider the best length for readability and attention span for blog posts). I cannot speak on how informative, entertaining, or enlightening this article is, as that is solely up to my readers, so your comments and likes will be the measure. But I did meet the required length. And, just to rub it in, I made it exactly 350 words (minus this epilogue). Thanks for the challenge and happy trails to you!
commonsensiblyspeaking 
Fear can be paralyzing. We are ingrained with the “fight or flight” survival mode, and sometimes, fear can result in us doing neither. I don’t think any of us want to be in that place – a sort of limbo, almost – because waiting to do either might be far riskier than choosing the wrong one.
Enjoyed this post! Good job!
Well done! Guess I’ll have to match at some point soon 😁
It was harder than I thought it would be. I look forward to reading your response in kind. Thanks for the challenge!
Fear is about making oneself vulnerable . The only way to growth is by making oneself vulnerable. No fear, no growth.
Well said!