Falling In Love With Fear

Fear rules our life.

Constantly.

Fear of doing badly in school.
Fear of making a bad impression.
Fear of not getting that job.
Fear over money.
Fear of the thought that fighting for yourself would lead to more trouble.
Fear of saying something wrong.
Fear of letting someone down.

Need I go on? Did any of that sound familiar?

I recently wrote about how I overcame my fear of bike riding and it got me thinking about life and fear and its impact on our lives. Everyone is usually so scared to go after something that scares them but they never think of what the good outcome will be, only the bad. Fear is like a little voice in your head telling you that you will always fail. But you won't.

I remember the first time I stood up for myself in an argument instead of being scared. And I felt amazing, like I had accomplished something and you know what? I didn't get in trouble either, in fact, I was praised for sticking up for myself.

I remember being in school and actually speaking out in class instead of being scared I was wrong. I was so proud of myself. I actually started doing better in school and I was trusted by my teachers more.

I also remember the time that I conquered my fear of bike riding. I felt incredible. I can now move around more quickly and exercise a lot quicker.

I remember falling in love without being scared of what could go wrong. And it still feels incredible today. Bringing those walls down and letting someone in is the best decision you can ever make if it's the right person.

So why does it rule our lives? You should never be scared to conquer a fear. Ever. We expect children to do it without much help, whether that's them being scared of the dark or any imaginary monsters. They're thrust into their fear, told monsters don't exist and don't have the choice but to face it because someone's forcing them. And they come out better for it. But who's forcing us?

Face your fears. As far as I can tell, you have two choices. Face that challenge that you have to overcome eventually or you can just let it rule over your life. You will feel proud and accomplished and you'll feel more confident when you overcome it. It doesn't matter what your fear is or what anyone else thinks. At the end of the day, you're overcoming it for you.

Now when I'm going through my day, I'm always aware of what gives me that feeling of fear and most of the time, I'll go out of my way to conquer it. Like underpasses and bridges, I hate them, I absolutely hate walking under them. I used to run under them actually. Nowadays, I take my time walking under. Am I over the fear that the bridge will collapse? No. But I'm slowly conquering it. Some fears aren't a 'one and done' kind, some take longer and that's okay.

It all boils down to conquering the fear in your head mentally and then physically. We all know the power of subconscious thinking. As soon as you think something like 'I'll fail', you will because you've made yourself believe you will. Conquering a fear starts in the mind, when a fear arises, try and counter it with a reasonable thought, like:

Scared of going to an interview? An interviewer is a person, just like you. Just relax.

Scared you'll fail that exam? If you've done all the studying you can then you can only do your best.

Then just breathe and feel your fear slipping away.

Fear is necessary and beautiful. Without it what would give us a challenge? Life would be a breeze, it would be boring.We need fear to grow, as a person and in life.

I've started falling in love with my fears because they're just an extra challenge. And when I overcome them I know I'll feel incredible. It'll always feel like an accomplishment because it is, it's a personal victory. One you should always feel proud about and one you'll always feel more confident about.

As we come into the new year, really think about your fears and what you can do to conquer them. You have what it takes. Let me take you to a quote I have loved since I first set my eyes on it and we'll finish there.

"To me, Fearless is not the absence of fear. It's not being completely unafraid. To me, Fearless is still having fears. Fearless is having doubts. Lots of them. To me, Fearless is living in spite of those things that scare you to death."
-Taylor Swift

What fear are you going to conquer now?

What fear are you going to conquer now? What fears have you already conquered? Share them down below and don't forget to share this with your friends on social media!