It would not be an overestimation to say that fear is one of our worst enemies. Fear stands on the way to our greater good; and as long as we allow ourselves to be dominated by fear in our thoughts and actions, these blessings will remain beyond our reach - no matter how hard we try to grab hold on them. It is essential to learn how to deal with fear if we ever want to achieve wholeness, creative self-expression, abundant life, and happiness.
"The reward for facing fear is that you get to be fully alive. When you turn towards your fear, you feel the breath of life blowing straight at you, and it's very refreshing. You feel awake and energized. Being afraid of something is no excuse for not doing it", wrote Steve Pavlina
Where should we start in dealing with fear? We've got to know ourselves.
The problem with many people is that they call "fear" impulses which in reality have nothing to do with fear. Our instinct drive to protect ourselves is natural and wholesome, although we often describe it in terms of fear. It is always good to take care of our safety in different areas of our life, as long as it isn't our dominant and obsessive motivation. Being fearless does not mean being either thoughtless or reckless. Being fearless does not mean we should neglect the universal laws and forget the consequences for breaking them. So, let us distinguish destructive and paralyzing fears from genuine self-care.
The next thing we need to do is to uncover our real fears. Strangely enough, many people learned to hide their fears behind various rationalizations. Some fears have been buried in our subconsciousness. It isn't always easy to admit that we are afraid, yet learning about our fears is one of the major steps in dealing with them.
However, after we realized our fears we need to avoid such traps as concentration on our fears and worries about them. We will find it out in our experience that it is much better to deal with fears indirectly, while we are engaged in other creative activities. Let us also note that there is nothing strange about fear - it is a common human experience. Fear is not something to be ashamed of, or to feel guilty about. We will transcend our fears in the natural course of our spiritual evolution, just like we grew out of our child's clothes.
No matter whether we feel fear or not, it is also important to act in spite of our fear. Some people make a mistake of waiting to become completely fearless before they will move on in their desired direction. This may never happen. Let us act now, and we will see our fear becomes less. "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear", said Mark Twain.
