A couple different conversations this week about fears, having them and handling them.
One conversation I had was one that I have all the time and that was centered around the fears of business owners to do the things they need to do because mostly of their fears of disapproval from others.
Another conversation, one that also comes up a lot, was about the fears that come with hiking and camping in the woods.
Let’s talk about the fears you have, whether you should have them at all and how you handle them.
There is no such thing as fearless! Or at least there shouldn’t be. Someone who is truly fearless just sounds like a dangerous person to me. It’s okay to have fears, it’s okay to use them to help you make better decisions but it’s not okay to let them stop you from achieving your successes and not letting you live your best life.
I used to climb, cut and trim trees for a living. Everytime I showed up at a job and started looking at the tree I was about to conquer, the fears were there! I’m glad they were there. Those fears made me spend a little more time double checking the straps on my spikes, tightening up the belt on my harness, triple checking my ropes, planning my route up the tree and all the steps throughout the climb. I overcame those fears but I used them to my advantage.
I have also spent a lot of time over the years overcoming my fear of dogs. I had been bitten a few times and developed a bad fear of them which you know only makes it worse around them. I could actually make you quite the list of my fears. I’m doing pretty good at working through them with the exception of two. I’m claustrophobic and just don’t know if I can ever conquer that one and my fear of disapproval from others.
The latter might surprise you considering all of the things I do and say that people don’t approve of. That’s just me working on conquering that fear. I have a fear that if I am completely honest and really speak out to what I believe that I will have no friends left. Maybe, having that fear is making me more responsible and maybe that’s a good thing. Or, maybe that fear is holding me back, causing me anxieties and limiting me in other ways. What do you think?
I keep working on it and helping others working on it at the same time is helpful for me too.
How are you working on it? Are you working on it all or are you just succumbing to your fears? Need any help?