Face it. Explore it. Accept it. Respond to it.

There is no way to avoid it. You will face it when a situation frightens you.

You and I know what it is…

It is Fear….

Fear has many names, apprehension, misgiving, trepidation, dread, horror, phobia, terror, always foreboding, fret, distress, panic, and worry. And this emotion is  probably the most common limiting emotion for many people.

If I refuse to listen to the voice of fear, Would the voice of courage whisper in my ear?

Some of you have grown so accustomed to fear it has become a part of your daily lives.  When you withdraw from a situation in order to save yourselves from failure, you have chosen instead another kind of failure: failure to take all you can from life, failure to be all that you can be. Every experience can move you forward in the understanding of yourselves. When you withdraw, you stay stuck in a world you need to leave behind.

Fear is an acronym: False Expectations Appearing Real. For the most part, what you fear is not real- it is merely your mind imagining something awful that has not yet happened.

Seldom do you do the thing you fear, so you seldom discover whether or not your projection of disaster is accurate. Fear breeds lack of experience, lack of experience breeds ignorance, ignorance breeds more fear. It is a vicious cycle.

Sophocles (Fifth Century B.C.) knew this when he wrote, “To him who is in fear, everything rustles.”

How do you handle fear when it shows up:  Face it. Explore it. Accept it. Respond to it.

Facing fear-means you can stop running from the voices in your heads that make you hide and cringe.

Exploring fear– means you turn around and walk straight towards the big scary bully.

Accepting fear– means you see the fear and you realize some things you cannot change.

Responding to fear– means you change your response when fear shows up.

Changing your habits – your vocabulary-your thinking will help you change your perceptions.

Decide today- that you won’t be one of those people who are a victim to their thoughts and habits. Conquer your thoughts today and become the great warrior, enjoying the life that has meant to be for you.

It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.-Aurelius Marcus

These steps are  simple but powerful – Be aware of your fear, Do not run, Do not hide, Do not cover it up with excuses- Make that courageous move- Move straight toward it.  The fear you have today- the one you spent a lifetime trying to ignore is about to become your greatest teacher.