English: There is no fear, until we make it up. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
We ask ourselves the questions, “what if ____ happens?” Fear often makes us stop dead in our tracks, and limits our abilities. The question is how do we overcome our fears? I often wonder what the strongest emotion is for us humans. I think it is fear. Well, fear and anger. Fear and anger go hand in hand though right?
Fear seems to hold us back so much in our lives.
Well, I am no scientist or psychologist, but it is my opinion that the only way to overcome fear is to:
“Dive into unknown waters”
For those of you who have endured grief of losing a loved one in your life, then you understand very well what fear can do to a person. For whatever reason, when we lose a loved one, fear raises it’s ugly head and is a powerful opponent.
There are several things in life that cause powerful fear such as:
- Divorce
- Change
- Death of a loved one
- Illness
- Separation from family or friends
- Moving
- Failure
- Death of a pet
- Loss of a job
- Feeling unaccepted by our peers
- Making mistakes without forgiveness
- Rejection
There are people I have known in my life whom fear has made them almost an inmate in their own homes. They fear going out into the world, or trying new things. The fear of rejection is one of the biggest hurdles for single men and woman who are dating. Whenever I ask a person, “Why didn’t you ask them out on a date?” The person often responds, “I was afraid.”
Well, what if we decided not to let fear have any power in our lives? Do you think life would improve? These are things that have been on my mind lately. People who are subject to changes that occur quickly, often cannot recover or rebound due to the “what if” question. The question plays over and over in their minds. I know this because I have had close friends who have lost someone dear to them or their health, and the person doesn’t ever seem the same. The person seems distant and almost in a daydreaming state of mind, even after years after the separation the person, isn’t the same.
Could it be the person is stuck in the, “I wish things were the way they used to be” state of mind? Well, but the reality is that the world around us is constantly changing and people change. Change is inevitable. Perhaps the strong are the people who adapt to change quickly? I realize I am asking a ton of questions here. These are just the thoughts rolling around up there in my brain.
Fear is a beast, that’s all I know. A beast that is so hard to tame. Think the trick is learning to train the beast….maybe?
Fear is the Great White Shark of Emotions
Related articles
- A Letter to Fear: (wordsbyrobin.wordpress.com)
- Fears (samanthasohyuling.wordpress.com)
- Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear (literarylew.wordpress.com)
- Fear Not Fear! Camille is Here? (cpaynelove.wordpress.com)
- Fear & “What Ifs” (throughthecrackedwindow.wordpress.com)
- Day 39: Can You Overcome The Fear of DEATH ? (sandysjourneytolife.wordpress.com)
- “What Would You Do Today If… (simplystephanieblog.com)
- Common Fears – Choosing a New Response (mj1978.wordpress.com)
- Understanding the Loss of Your Pet (everydayhealth.com)
- Preparing for Grief (everydayhealth.com)
mystudentstruggles
/ September 8, 2012I’m feeling all emotional and I don’t really know why. Well, maybe I do. I’m currently in the “I wish things could be the way they used to be” mode of thinking. But I’ve always been told I’m annoyingly persistant so hopefully I’ll ‘train the beast’
Hope everything’s ok with you
lizeccentric7
/ September 12, 2012Everything is going better, thank you, have to train that ol’ beast that is fear!
Time-traveler
/ September 8, 2012Hey I’m busy right now but I’ll be back this evening to leave some good comments. Read my latest post when you have time. It will give some insight about what I went through yesterday. Good day to you
lizeccentric7
/ September 12, 2012I will check it out Hugh and Good day to you.
wellcallmecrazy
/ September 8, 2012I believe that anger is just fear on steroids. I totally agree that fear is a beast…..a beast I wrestle with everyday. It has come close to getting me on a few occasions, but I am determined to keep on fighting.
lizeccentric7
/ September 12, 2012I too wrestle with fear every day, fear of losing, fear of failure, it goes on and on…fear can wear a person out. Guess fear does keep us on our toes though, and keep us motivated, that is for sure.
Rebecca Hardesty
/ September 8, 2012You put it so well. Fear is a huge obstacle. It seems that it is often defense mechanism to stop us from jumping into those unknown waters that come in the form of asking someone on a date, pursuing a dream or speaking one’s truth.
“Train the beast.” I like that, although I don’t think I have ever been successful at that. I think I am with @wellcallmecrazy and try to wrestle the beast, but it would be nice to simply coexist with it. In other words, it would be nice to accept the fear and recognize that it is an emotion that does not need to be in control.
This was a very timely article. It definitely put things into perspective for me. Thank you
lizeccentric7
/ September 12, 2012Glad this article came at a good time for you Rebecca as fear was on my mind and how that fear can be healthy in some ways, and negative in others. For example, it is fear of a ticket that keeps us driving under the speed limit. However, too much fear, can leave a person shaking in their home and not be able to go outdoors (I have known people with such fears). Fear does have it’s place, but fearing too much of what other’s think can turn into a very unhealthy phobia, I think (although, I am no MD – just Dr. Liz over here
Rebecca Hardesty
/ September 18, 2012I think Dr. Liz is a great source of advice and wisdom.
Fear does indeed have its place. It is a universal emotion that does keep us out of bad situations, but it can cripple us unnecessarily.
lizeccentric7
/ September 19, 2012exactly Rebecca! Thank you for understanding.
Time-traveler
/ September 9, 2012The only thing to fear is fear itself. I used to live my life literally without fear and it got me into a whole lot of trouble. At one point i could get pulled over with 30 lbs of marijuana under my seat and talk to the cop like I was a law abiding citizen. These were my late teens, I am almost thirty two
lizeccentric7
/ September 12, 2012WoW! Now, that’s some balls Hugh!
Time-traveler
/ September 12, 2012I thought I had the balls of some one wit Elephantiasis as one part of my life. Now I have become to realize, it not the size, it’s what you can do with them. I say that using them in life situations.
lizeccentric7
/ September 12, 2012That’s funny Hugh, true and funny.
Zishaan 'ZuZu' Shafi
/ September 12, 2012Fear serves no purpose. It is an emotion that can be manipulated and used against you. I agree with everything you said, you have to tame it! Great post!
lizeccentric7
/ September 12, 2012I disagree, I feel that fear does serve a purpose. Fear motivates people to get off of our bottom’s at times and go into action. It is the over-abundance of fear is when fear becomes a problem. Fear can make a person stronger, because when faced with a fear and by overcoming that fear, the person then feels more confident and able to face the problem or issue head on instead of running away.
Zishaan 'ZuZu' Shafi
/ September 13, 2012I think it could, but I’ve never seen it do that. All i’ve ever seen is people held hostage by their fears.
lizeccentric7
/ September 14, 2012Well, for example we fear the IRS here in America so we file our taxes. We fear getting sick, so we wash our hands frequently, etc. In my opinion, fear does have a place. It motivates, just like fear of prison may motivate a person not to commit a crime. In this case, fear is a good thing, as no crime was committed. Fear of prison prevented the crime.