Do you know that fear of uncertainty, fear of failure and other common fears all stem from one area: the limiting beliefs holding you back. If you want to learn how to overcome fear of any kind these 10 steps will teach you to conquer fear and move you closer to the life of your dreams.
Some Facts: Fear dominates our lives so much that the medical industry has raked in billions and billions of dollars’ worth of doctor’s appointments and medications.
People around the world are seeing physicians and popping pills just to deal with the pressure that stems from fear.
Fear of failing, fear of getting fired, fear of not making ends meet – whatever you’re afraid of, it’s definitely causing anxiety.
#1. To Know How To Overcome Fear First Understand That Fear Isn’t About What Happens … It’s About How Your Brain Is Wired.
Now there’s a comforting thought the statistics don’t lie: the fear you have isn’t based on REALITY or MEANINGFUL WARNING SIGNS.
It’s just based on how your brain is currently wired to work. (Of course, if the men in balaclavas are breaking your front door down, you can assume that that fear is based in reality and should, in fact, react.)
Truthfully though: the majority of our everyday annoyances are NOT life-threatening.
So why do we treat them like they are? It all starts with you - or your brain, to be exact.
Fear has nothing to do with your actual circumstances. It’s the way your mind RESPONDS to these mini-crises and makes you worry about little things and that makes all the difference.
The brain is an incredibly complex machine, but the reality is that it’s also OUTDATED in many ways – namely, the way that FEAR works.
The human mind works the same way it did thousands of years ago, when ‘survival’ meant ‘not being eaten by wild animals’ and ‘not getting killed by another tribe’.
If I left you in the woods right now, how would you feel? Even if there was no one else but you in the forest, you’d probably feel scared right?
This is the amygdala at work, which is the brain’s early warning system that heightens our senses and keeps us alert against potential threats and that's the reason we are unable to destroy fear.
This “software” was long installed in our noggins before philosophers started introducing logic and reasoning to mankind.
At present, this same mechanism still works the same way - even if the “dangers” we face are work-related challenges. This is the reason why we treat perfectly manageable hassles into catastrophes of apocalyptic proportions.
In simple words we can't keep ourselves calm and relaxed even though we want to...And also we cannot control our emotions even after trying so hard. That's the amygdala at work.
#2. : To Conquer Fear, Chill Out, It’s Not the End Of the World.
Now we’ve established how our stress levels can skyrocket over less-than-fatal circumstances, it’s easy to see why our minds can play tricks on us.
If you want to know how to overcome fear and counteract the amygdala’s fear-inducing effects, you need to divert your mind so you don’t get flooded in a sea of emotions.
Don’t knock deep-breathing and meditation. It may come off as new-age hogwash for some people, but these are very effective ways to get your brain to snap out of panic mode.
There are plenty of online and offline resources available out there (both free and paid), so do some research on the type of relaxation methods that suit you best.
Personally, hitting the stationary bike for 15 minutes during work breaks keep me from dwelling on whatever’s stressing me out.
But feel free to do your own thing when you can, whether it’s picking up a book or picking up some weights.
#3. You Can Tap Your Worries Away And Destroy Fear.
Outside the realm of traditional treatment is a method called Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). What this basically does is unblock the flow of electromagnetic energy in your body, much like how acupressure works.
By tapping your fingers into certain energy points – otherwise known as meridians – you can free up whatever “emotional clogs” have built up over time.
The difference between EFT and straightforward acupressure is that you have to tell yourself key key phrases or affirmations while tapping into your energy meridians.
These empowering statements help you believe in your abilities (i.e. overcome fear, diffuse your anger, etc.) even if they aren’t necessarily true at this point in time.
Essentially, this approach eliminates all the negative thoughts and emotions stewing in your brain – especially magnified fear.
Although it hasn’t gained universal acceptance in the medical community, it has been around for more than a couple of decades and is being used by more and more experts worldwide.
However, EFT comes in different varieties. You can check out the following resource here for more information about this stress-busting approach:
#4. Try The 4-7-8 Breathing Technique To Destroy Fear And Become a Fearless Person.
Close your mouth and quietly breath in through your nose, counting to four in your head. Hold your breath and count to seven.
Breathe out through your mouth, making a whoosh sound while counting to eight. Repeat three more times for a total of four breath cycles.
You can also continue this breathing technique for longer than four breath cycles if you are feeling that the fear still exist in your body and mind.
This is really helpful you can try this to conquer fear.
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#5. Visualise Being in a Happy Place To Overcome Fear.
Take a moment to close your eyes and imagine a place of safety and calm.
It could be a picture of you walking on a beautiful beach, or snuggled up in bed with the cat next to you, or a happy memory from childhood.
Let the positive feelings soothe you until you feel more relaxed.
#6. Learn More About Your Fear To Overcome It.
This important step can be the toughest one, but it’s also very significant. You can’t overcome a fear that remains hidden in the dusty regions of your subconscious. You must face it.
When you turn your face toward a person, you see that person and learn what he looks like and how he is acting.
When you turn toward your fear (rather than away from it), you notice things about your fear that you didn’t know before. This awareness helps you overcome it.
To help yourself face your fears and anxiety, try keeping a journal over a period of two or three weeks. Record any patterns you notice.
Do your hands turn clammy and your stomach clenches when you hear the doorbell?
Do you experience more symptoms of anxiety in the morning or the evening?
What do you tend to do when your fears arise? Jot down anything that seems significant. Transferring your fear patterns and symptoms into writing can help demystify them. They are no longer so big and insurmountable.
Most importantly, learning all about your fear gives you an idea of how to counter it and become a fearless person.
#7. Practice Mindfulness To Become a Fearless Person.
You’ve heard about mindfulness, but what exactly is it? Mindfulness is a passive thinking activity that allows you to become more aware of your fear. As you learned in Step 6 above, awareness helps you overcome your fear and anxiety.
Practice these mindfulness tips during some of your less severe times of fear and anxiety.
When you recognize your fear symptoms arising, sit down and think about what is happening to you.
This is like making a mental journal entry. Observe the symptoms as they arise. Don’t do anything about it. Just sit and keep track of yourself as the moment continues.
Being passive raises your self-awareness, and it prevents you from doing the typical things you do when you experience fear. It helps get you out of a rut.
#8. Avoid Alcohol, or Drink in Moderation To Overcome Fear.
It’s very common for people to drink when they feel nervous.
Some people call alcohol ‘Dutch courage’, but it’s not good for you and the after-effects of alcohol can make you feel even more afraid or anxious.
#9. Exercise To Overcome Fear.
Try to increase the amount of physical activity you do. Exercise requires some concentration, and this can take your mind off your fear and anxiety.
Remember, activity doesn’t have to be vigorous; gentle stretches, seated exercises, or walking are all good for you.
#10. You Have The Power To Face And Overcome Fear Of Any Kind.
It’s a common habit for a lot of people to mull around and do the hemming and hawing routine which gets them bogged down in hesitation.
It’s like an IT expert who has trouble fixing a computer problem because he’s too busy reading the manual instead of focusing on the issue and apply what he already knows.
Oftentimes, it’s more counterproductive to get stuck in analyzing the situation to death and trying to foresee all the possible outcomes.
Again, don’t let the fear make a situation seem worse than it actually is.
Sure, it’s normal to feel some anxiety about forging ahead without truly knowing what the outcome will be. But as a popular athletic brand might say however, it pays to “just do it.”
Rational thinking is helpful in general, but thinking about it too much can get in the way of making any real progress with any give scenario.
As an exercise, make a gradual effort to deliberately put yourself in situations with an element of risk.
Maybe you’ve been putting off losing ten pounds for some time now; post your project on Facebook so your family and friends know about it.
By forcing yourself in a situation like this, you have no choice but to FACE the FEAR of breaking a public promise. You can learn to embrace fear by tackling a project, asking help from others if needed and keeping your fingers crossed.
Unless the you-know-what hits the fan, there’s really nothing to lose by desensitizing yourself to fear AND LEARN from the experience.
Once you’ve gotten over something you were afraid of in the past, you’ll wonder why it seemed so scary in the first place.
Not only that, the sense of accomplishment is incredibly empowering which will encourage you to pummel fear even harder the next time around.
The thing is, we can never rid ourselves of fear completely. From the very beginning, we were hardwired with this instinct even before our species could come up with a name for it. Eliminating fear is not the point.
Instead, we should adapt the mindset of being GRATEFUL for the purpose that fear serves us. If you can keep yourself from feeding your fear and depriving it of power, you can make this emotion work FOR YOU – and not against.
