As you move forward on your journey from where you are to where you want to be, you are going to have to confront your fears. Fear is natural. Whenever you start a new project, take on a new venture, or put yourself out there, there is usually fear. Unfortunately, most people let fear stop them from taking the necessary steps to achieve their dreams. Successful people, on the other hand, feel the fear along with the rest of us but don’t let it keep them from doing anything they want to do — or have to do. They understand that fear is something to be acknowledged, experienced, and taken along for the ride.
How to get rid of fear
One way to actually disappear your fear is to ask yourself what you’re imagining that is scary to you, and then replace that image with its positive opposite.
Remember when you triumphed in the face of fear
Did you ever learn to dive off a diving board? If so, you probably remember the first time you walked to the edge of the board and looked down. The water looked a lot deeper than it really was. And considering the height of the board and the height of your eyes above the board, it probably looked like a very long way down.
You were scared. But did you look at your mom or dad or the diving instructor and say, “You know, I’m just too afraid to do this right now. I think I’ll go do some therapy on this, and if I can get rid of my fear, I’ll come back and try again…”?
No! You didn’t say that.
You felt the fear, somehow mustered up courage from somewhere, and jumped into the water. You felt the fear and did it anyway.
When you surfaced, you probably swam like crazy to the side of the pool and took a few well-earned deep breaths. Somewhere, there was a little rush of adrenaline, the thrill of having survived a risk, plus the thrill of jumping through the air into the water. After a minute, you probably did it again, and then again and again — enough to where it got to be really fun. Pretty soon, all of the fear was gone and you were doing cannonballs to splash your friends and maybe even learning how to do a backflip.
If you can remember that experience or the first time you drove a car or the first time you kissed someone on a date, you’ve got the model for everything that happens in life. New experience will always feel a little scary. They’re supposed to. That’s the way it works. But every time you face a fear and do it anyway, you build up that much more confidence in your abilities.
* Source: The Success Principles by Jack Canfield