How many people realize the negative effects which they will have due to allowing the fear of the unknown to restrict their growth as a person in all areas of their lives? Overcoming fear of the unknown is probably one of the most liberating experiences any one person can have.
Now please don’t misunderstand me here, being afraid of something which you know could be life threatening to you is natural and this is what is known as realistic fear, it is good to have as it keeps us from doing things or getting into situations which could harm us or even kill us. However it is the fear of the unknown which tends to suppress us from reaching our full potential and being the best that we can be.
There is an old saying which says, “There is nothing to fear but fear itself!” but our human nature teaches us to handle fear differently. By nature we tend to fear that which we do not understand or have much knowledge about and thus the saying “Ignorance breeds fear” and there has never been a more accurate statement.
We are actually conditioned to fear making mistakes as well and this conditioning begins with our school years, where we are taught that unless something is done in a certain way, we will get a cross and our answer is wrong. We are not however taught to begin to think for ourselves and if the answer we give is not the one in the text book, then it is wrong.
All of these factors play a role in our developing a fear of the unknown and it is this fear that will very often hold us back because when we are ignorant and do not know for sure that we are taking the correct action, we rather choose to take no action what so ever as we are afraid of being wrong.
So how should one effectively go about overcoming fear of the unknown, well it is really self explanatory, if what you fear the unknown, take the time to invest in yourself and to learn everything there is about your fear as then it will no longer be the unknown.
I take for instance, a few years back I knew nothing about web design, I was however aware that there were a lot of people making money on the internet. Did I choose to let my fear of the unknown hold me back from using this investment vehicle, NO! I now run many internet businesses and in fact have the Build a Web site which teaches people how to bypass all the jargon of internet design and effectively teaches them how to build a fully functional website in a very short period of time for FREE.
What we need to begin to understand is that it is our fear which stops us fro taking action and that it is ignorance which causes our fear of the unknown, so in order to be able to overcome the fear so as to be able to take action, we need to get rid of the ignorance and the only way I know that you will be able to do this is by investing in yourself by learning about your fear so that it can no longer hold you back from taking action.
Here are a few tips as to how you might choose to begin to overcome fear and the negative impact which it has on your life:
- Know your enemy – It is essential that you begin by taking the time to find out what is causing the fear or in fact simply what the fear is. Fears can be caused by any number of things such as childhood experiences, misconceived perceptions, bad experiences and even more often than not just plain ignorance.
Please do not begin to dwell on your fears, rather concentrate your energy on being able to determine what they actually are. For instance if you are afraid to make a decision because you might be wrong, recognize this and begin to look for reasons why you have this fear.
- Search for the actual root of your fear – Once you are aware of what your fears are, it is time to start looking for the causes of these fears, examine your own life and try to find out what might be the root cause of this fear. The easiest way is to examine what emotions or situations trigger this fear and then for you to look for the first time you felt this way. If you are able to find the cause of your fear, you will be far closer to being able to overcome fear and the effects which you allow it to have over you.
- Face your fear – Facing your fear is probably one of the only ways by which you will be able to overcome it. Take the time to find out what your fear is, what you believe is causing this fear and then do everything in your power to learn as much as possible about the fear so as to be able to overcome it.
As a Wealth Creator, there is no way I will allow fear to dictate my decisions in life and if you are willing to apply the Kaizen Principle when you approach your fears, very soon you will find that by taking it one step at a time in a positive direction you will soon realize that the fears which you might have had could have been what was holding you back from achieving your goals and dreams your whole life.
The moment we take the time to invest in ourselves, we begin to free ourselves and we are able to start overcoming fear and the hold it has over us which is often all that stands between us and a life of abundance and harmony, the life of a Wealth Creator.