“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”– Paulo Coelho
Fear is a painful emotion which arises in your mind because your brain somehow formulated a perception about dangers. Fear, when taken positively, helps us to save ourselves from the expected danger. It is a part of the survival mechanism. When we are in fear, our adrenal glands release adrenaline into the bloodstream which increases blood flow to our muscles so that we can run faster to escape from physical danger. It restricts blood flow to other parts of the body such as stomach and legs. No doubt, it is helpful when there is real physical danger. But in the present day, the fear is not physical but mental. Overcoming this mental fear we have to deal with things logically, peacefully and not to become over stimulated. Very often our fears and anxieties include the possibility of losing one’s near and dear ones, failure in business or examination, fear of losing authority, fear of illness, the anxiety of children education and career, fear of death, etc.etc.
“You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith.” -Mary Manin Morrissey
We can divide all these fears into three parts:
- We are worrying about something which is certainly going to happen, like death
- We are worrying about something which will never happen
- The third type of fears are which may or may not happen
Thinking, worrying and creating fear in the 1 and 2 cases is wastage of time and energy. We should also not worry about such things which may or may not happen. Rather we should equip ourselves to face what can happen in future. But the majority of us are wasting our energies and power on thinking about its consequences rather than taking any concrete steps. Fear not only depletes our energy but also paralyses our mind and we are not able to face the possible threats. Instead of fear, we should take the necessary measures to protect ourselves from the likely losses and should prepare ourselves to face the intending threats before these happen. Suppose my strength to face the situation was 80% when I came to know about the possible threat but due to continuous fear and anxiety the strength to face went down to 40%. The only need was to empower me and take protective measures to face the challenge or possible loss/threat.
The continuous worrying and thinking about fear only deplete our energy which does more harm than good.
Here are 15 ways to help you to cope up with your fear and anxiety
- Meditation
- Yoga & Exercise
- Healthy Eating
- Avoiding excess alcohol, coffee, and tea
- Faith in yourself
- Practice spirituality
- Go out with nature
- Imagine the worst
- Don’t try to be perfect
- Reward yourself
- Feeling of Gratitude
- Read and listen to motivational & inspirational work
- Observe yourself and think positive
- Be kind to others and help people
- Listen to good music and spiritual mantras
“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” – Marie Curie