You might not think about fear as being a choice, but consider these words:
“When we talk about fear as a problem, then, we’re not talking about every instance of fear, only our tendency toward overreaction–imagining a problem where none really exists, worrying about things over which we have no control, or turning a reasonable cause for concern into something much worse. An American president once said that we have nothing to fear but fear itself; but it is probably more correct to say that we have nothing to fear but our hand in exaggerating it.”
“First we must become open to the possibility that the dark reality of present evasion and fear is not the only plane of existence. There exists for each of us a parallel option, a potential universe where honest opinions are valued, not punished; where taking healthy risks is rewarded regardless of the outcome; and where self-expression and success are considered synonymous. Furthermore, this universe is not in some utopian mountain location or in a commune or in an exotic religious cult, but literally as close to us as the people we pass on the street.”
-Lewis M. Andrews, Ph.D. To Thine Own Self Be True
Anything that requires an uncomfortable step in life will produce some feelings of fear. Fear is not a problem unless we exacerbate it and blow it out of proportion. We are better served to step back and consider what it is that we are fearing. Is it the actually step or is it the negative thinking thread we are attaching forward to that step? We can choose to consider the positive aspects from taking the step just as easily as we can consider the negative. WE CHOOSE.
The next time you feel fear before doing the thing you SHOULD do, consider three things. Consider all the positive possibilities that could arise from taking the step. And there will be many. Consider that the mere act of taking the step in the face of any level of fear or discomfort immediately serves to make you stronger for the future and grows you. And consider the negative consequences of NOT taking the step and remaining in the same situation that instigating the idea of taking the step in the first place as well as the negative impact on your feelings of self-worth.
An old American Indian curse goes something like this “May you stay in one place forever.” Fear THAT instead and then take the step.
