Right now, most of us are living in fear. Fear exists for a reason. It prevents us from making bad choices or from getting hurt physically and emotionally, but it is also used as a shield preventing us from attaining our true potential or living a life that we were destined to live. It is said that 90% of our decisions are emotionally based. Logic is only used to justify our actions to ourselves and to others. Emotion always trumps logic so there lies the rub. So how did we evolve to a place of fear? Why do we feel like we do? Why do we act like we do? The short answer is some of it is innate, some of it is experienced, some of it is perceived.
Many articles and books talk about controlling or overcoming fear. There is nothing to control or overcome. It’s about understanding. In the last paragraph, I breakdown the emotion of fear into three categories: Innate, Experienced, and Perceived. Innate is what we’re born with, Experienced is what life has dealt us, and Perceived is how we view things. Sure, you can try to control and overcome all of these. Some may succeed, most will fail. How often does controlling something in your life work for you? Most of us don’t want to do the deep dive. We would rather choose to ignore it, justify it, or look the other way. Problem is, if you never address the root of the issue, it stays with you like a bad taste in your mouth. What happens when you dig deep and fully understand something, usually it’s an a-ha moment. For most of us, it provides a sense of confidence, accomplishment, enthusiasm, clarity, focus, and increased productivity.
Once you understand where your fear emanates from, you can now use that to your advantage. What you were afraid of before won’t suddenly disappear, but now you’ll have a greater perspective and a new baseline from which to operate. It will provide you with additional choices and options from which to attain what you’re seeking. Without options, your choices are limited. Life is about opportunity, adventure, and experience. Why hold back on something you REALLY want or want to do!
I encourage you to dig deep and understand your fear. You may want to engage the help of a trained healthcare professional, mentor, or coach. They can provide objective guidance, perspective, and support. This will take some time, so be patient. It will be worth the journey. I promise.