If so, you are certainly not alone because fear is one of the biggest obstacles that many people face when trying to create better life circumstances.
Below are some of the most common ways that fear can hold you back:
Fear can prevent you from making positive changes.
Sometimes fear can make even the smallest changes seem extremely uncomfortable. For example, you may be deeply dissatisfied with your job, but feel nervous or uncertain about finding and applying for a better one. Or you may have always dreamed of buying your own home but worry that the responsibility would be too much to handle.
Fear can prevent you from breaking destructive habits.
We all know that smoking, poor dietary choices, excessive alcohol and a sedentary lifestyle are a recipe for health problems, but we often gravitate toward these habits because they help numb our anxious or fearful feelings. If you have ever tried to break a bad habit like this, you know how stressful it can be because suddenly you are filled with anxiety and you don‟t know how to handle it except to run back to your “pacifiers” – the very habits you are trying to break.
Fear can prevent you from taking risks.
Many of us shy away from risk because we fear negative consequences. For example, you may hesitate to invest your money because you fear losing it, or avoid starting a new relationship because you were so hurt by the last one. What most of us fail to realize is that risk can also bring great rewards. Avoiding risk may help us avoid negative possibilities but we also miss the excitement and joy that come from positive outcomes.
Fear can prevent you from pursuing your goals.
Have you ever dreamed of doing something great but were never able to push yourself to do it? Perhaps you dreamed of being a stand-up comedian but dreaded the thought of public speaking, or you desperately wanted to be a bestselling author but were too afraid to pen that novel lurking inside of you.
Fear can prevent you from expanding your life.
Social anxiety is another common way that fear can limit your potential. It may prevent you from attending networking functions so your career or business can‟t grow properly, or you may avoid taking that much needed vacation to relax and explore other cultures because you fear flying or being on a cruise ship.
It‟s important to note that all of these fears are most often groundless. They are merely a perception that things “could” go wrong – but that doesn‟t mean they will.
Rather than trying to force your way through the fear, you may find it easier to explore the many ways that fear can be effectively released from your mind, emotions, and body. When you know how to release the fear, you simply handle it as you would any minor obstacle and then continue on your way to creating the best life you possibly can.
Some common fears that could be hiding in your mind:
Fear of Failure
Some common fears that could be hiding in your mind:
Fear of Dying
Probably most people's number one fear ...so here’s something to think about...
"This self (your ego)... possesses some terrifying information. It knows that if it's lucky, it's destined to grow old, get sick, and lose everything that it's grown to love. Then it will die. This is a shortened version of what the world has offered you, which probably leaves you mystified and flabbergasted at the absurdity of this thing we call life.
Into this bleak picture, which inspires fear and even terror, I'd like to introduce a concept that will eliminate the terror. I want you to know that you needn't subscribe to the idea that you are only this collection of bones and tissues, destined to be annihilated in an aging process.
You've emerged from a universal field of Creation that I've been calling intention. Life itself is eternal, and you spring from this infinite no thing called life.
Therefore we must conclude that life, in terms of our body and all its achievements and possessions, which without exception begins and ends in dust, isn't life itself. Grasping life's true essence could radically change your life for the better.
This shift toward seeing yourself as an infinite spiritual being having a human experience, rather than the reverse - that is, a human having an occasional spiritual experience, is loaded with fear for most people. I urge you to look at those fears and face them directly right now; the result will be a permanent connection to the abundance and receptivity of the universal source that intends all of Creation into temporary form."
Taken from 'The Power of Intention' by Dr Wayne Dyer
Other common fears -
If you have ever held back on a goal or avoided taking action that would lead to a positive outcome, you may have been fearful that you might fail. Fear of failure can be subtle because our minds can come up with endless excuses why it‟s not a good time to take a risk right now, or how the odds don‟t seem to be in our favor, and so on.
Fear of Success
It‟s hard to believe that anyone could be afraid of success (isn‟t success usually a good thing?) but it‟s far more common than you might believe. Most often it‟s not the success itself that people fear, but rather all of the responsibilities and uncertainties that come along with success. If you worry that you won‟t be able to handle these things, you will resist putting yourself in a position where you would have to face them.
Fear of Rejection
Fear of rejection is usually related to low self-esteem, but may show up in subtle ways. You may lash out at others when a possible rejection is imminent; sabotage relationships so you can be the one who rejects the other person instead of them rejecting you; or you may simply withdraw from social interaction to avoid the possibility of being rejected at all.
Fear of Not Being Good Enough
This is another fear that is connected to self-esteem, and it often affects everything you do in life. You may avoid making changes to improve your life; settle for a dissatisfying job that pays less money than you are capable of earning; or continuously sabotage your goals. If you don‟t believe you deserve to have better life circumstances you won‟t allow yourself to create them.
A Simple Technique That Can Help You To Transform Your Fear Into More Empowering Feelings: Staying In The Present Moment
One of the most challenging aspects of fear is that it can often twist your perspective so dramatically that you can't keep a balanced view of the situation that triggered your fear. Your fear response is usually deeply connected to your limiting beliefs, which creates a sort of “filter” through which you will see most of your life experiences. This filter will assign meaning to everything that happens to you, even where no such meaning really exists.
Here's an example: Imagine that you recently applied for a promotion at work, and part of the application process involved writing and submitting a detailed report to your boss. Several days after you submitted your report, your boss approached you with a serious expression on his face and asked to speak privately with you at the end of the day.
What would your first reaction be? Would your boss‟s stern expression trigger feelings of fear and anxiety? Would you jump to the conclusion that he must not have liked your report? Or would you consider unrelated possibilities, like the may be deep in thought or concerned about an unrelated situation? Would you remain optimistic that your report was high quality and you still stand a great chance at getting the promotion? Your underlying beliefs will make all the difference in whether you feel fear or confidence in this type of situation. If you have a strong belief that you are not “good enough” (or the quality of your work is lacking somehow), you will naturally jump to negative conclusions. If you feel confident about yourself and your work, you will probably not feel worried.
When you feel that your beliefs may be creating fearful emotions as in the example above, there is a simple technique you can use to diffuse them and center yourself again. In the first moment when you notice your fear and anxiety beginning to rise, stop what you‟re doing and take a few minutes to tune into your bodily sensations. Notice that your shoulder muscles may start to feel tense, your breathing may become rapid and shallow, your heart rate may speed up, and so on.
Begin first tuning into these feelings, and acknowledging that they are happening. You can even say to yourself, “I can feel my shoulders getting tight and tense. My hands are getting clammy. I‟m really feeling nervous right now.”
Then, start deliberately calming these reactions by breathing slowly and deeply, relaxing your muscles and mentally staying in the present moment.
Resist the temptation to let your thoughts race ahead and worry about what may happen, what it might “mean” for you. All of those are merely perceptions – not necessarily what's really happening.
Stay in the present moment for as long as it takes to feel calm again. If you simply avoid letting your thoughts race ahead to frightening scenarios your fear should fade.
Source : Evolution Ezine Team
Source : Evolution Ezine Team
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