“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” – Jack Canfield
Fear: the one thing that holds humans back the most in life..and it doesn’t even truly exist.
Let that sink in for a moment. How many times have you opted out of new experiences because fear came knocking at your door once again? Fear seems very tangible sometimes, but our powerful minds often create elaborate stories that don’t ever play out in real life.
If you never push past that fear, you will live out your days painfully wondering what you could have discovered by simply taking a chance. Most people have regrets at the end of their lives, so if you want to live fully while you have the chance, use these tips to discover your courage and put fear to rest once and for all.
Here are 6 Things That Trap Us in Fear (And How to Get Un-Stuck)
1. You don’t know what you’re truly afraid of.
After living on this planet for a while, fear tends to build up in our bodies like water in a dry creekbed following several intense rainstorms. Eventually, that fear overflows, drowning us and everyone around us in a paralyzing state of panic. However, just as water recedes after a bad storm, your fear will diminish if you dig deep to find the source of it and give it someplace else to exist besides within you. In other words, you need to figure out what you fear, acknowledge those feelings, and then let them move on, flowing freely as new energy in a different form.
Everything is energy, and if you let go of things weighing you down, you set that energy free to manifest as a (hopefully) more positive outcome somewhere else. It often helps to write down your fears and determine if these scenarios could really happen or not. By writing them down, you can see on paper whether it makes sense to worry about these issues. Oftentimes, you will see that your worries only use up valuable energy; you can then release your fears once you’ve seen what they look like and how harmless they really are.
2. You keep the fear bottled up inside you.
If something puts us in a state of unease, we often hide it from others in fear of being ridiculed or misunderstood. People tend to tuck any negative emotions under the rug to deal with later, but this can be extremely detrimental. The burden will only grow heavier as time wears on, so make sure to deal with any anxiety you feel now before it becomes unbearable. Talk to someone you love and trust if you feel overwhelmed or don’t know how to handle the fear yourself – don’t feel ashamed in voicing your struggles; people who really care about you will feel more than happy to help you.
3. You focus too much on the problems, and not enough on the problem-solving
When you give all your attention to what you feel afraid of, you will only manifest more negative events in your life. Remember, energy flows where attention goes, so keep this in mind as you work through any blockages you might have. By putting all your energy into what will happen by overcoming the fear rather than how badly you the fear makes you feel, you can shift your perspective and see opportunities where you once saw obstacles.
Just think of what kind of person you can become when you turn fear into fortitude, and use that as your incentive to keep going.
4. You let your past experiences dictate your present and future.
How many times do you have recollections of the past and believe that these events determine your life today? By living in the past, you WILL actually recreate those events because all of your energy is focused on those negative occurrences. Remember that your past will only repeat itself if you dwell on the negatives experiences rather than using those as learning tools to better your current reality.
Nothing is permanent unless you allow it to be, so commit to creating a new future by coming to terms with your past and learning from those experiences, rather than allowing them to control you today.
5. You don’t acknowledge the fear.
Ironically, if you pretend the fear doesn’t exist, it will only become stronger. Denial is dangerous, because people try to distract themselves from their feelings or numb them somehow (often with drugs or alcohol) until they forget about them altogether. However, until you have addressed your feelings, they will only keep returning and become more difficult to manage each time.
Accept that you feel afraid, but don’t identify with that feeling. Instead, shift into a state of awareness where you just observe your body and mind without judgment. This makes the feeling less palpable, and the fear will slowly diminish once you have detached yourself from your mind and moved into your heart.
6. You fall victim to analysis paralysis.
This popular phrase simply means to become so baffled by what path to take that you don’t take any at all, feeling paralyzed with inaction. In order to overcome your fear, you need to break it down into smaller steps so it doesn’t seem like an enormous, impossible task. Write down on paper exactly how you can conquer your fears, and number each step so you have a clear outline of what to do. You can even set dates for each one to hold you accountable for your actions.
Whatever you do, just make sure to start in some direction rather than becoming wracked with fear. By building momentum, you will restore your confidence and defeat the big, ugly monster of fear one step at a time.
If you’re ready to get out of the fear trap, make this declaration in the comments below: I am healing on both the inside and the outside as I take on stronger, more positive belief systems.
