Thursday, August 26, 2010

Let Go of Your Fears by Challenging Yourself

About Fear

Eleanor Roosevelt believed "that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do, provided he keeps doing them until he gets a record of successful experiences behind him."

Who wouldn't want to conquer a fear?  Fears hold onto you; they hold you fast.  They keep you from what you want.  The problem is, you are holding onto this fear as much as it is holding onto you.  The only way to get what you want in life is to let go of the fear.

But how do you do it?  Well, you are off to a good start by just wanting to do something about your fears.  But a specific method to let go of a fear is an exciting one:

Challenge yourself--challenge yourself to challenge your fears.

Why Challenge Yourself?

Fear is a great motivator for bringing out the worst in you.  Challenges can be great motivators for bringing out the best in you.  Challenges excite you, and excitement is an important incentive to keep any commitment.  By embarking on a challenge, you do as Eleanor Roosevelt said--you keep doing the thing you fear until you have a track record of success.  This way the rewards are two-fold:  the sense of accomplishment and the release of a hindrance.

What Fear Are You Challenging?  

Pick a want first.  Something big.  Something you have wanted all your life.

Now, pick a fear.  Large or small, but it must be something that keeps you from your desire.

This is the fear you will challenge; the finish line is your want.  However, this is more of a marathon than a dash; more of a relay race than a solo.  Once you solve one fear, there are more in the way of your want.  And it can take many sessions to exorcise one fear from your life.  But think of it another way, think of it like Michelangelo saw his David--he chipped away at stone everything that wasn't David.  You have to chip away at everything that isn't your want; what you chip away is your fear.  If you do not take the chisel in hand, you will only have a hard block around your desire.  Challenge your fears, and you'll have your desire.

How Will You Challenge Your Fear?  

For your challenge to succeed, you must develop a winning program and winning mindset.  To do that, you must have interest in the challenge itself; it must excite you.  Take a while and think about what will keep your interest and what rewards you would like to give yourself.  Once you have that write it down.  Revise it.  Once it excites you on the page, once it makes you want to start right away, then visualize yourself working through it, visualize yourself overcoming struggles and the ennui, visualize yourself letting go of your fear, and visualize you receiving your interim reward, and finally, visualize yourself one step closer to your David and hand the chisel onto the new you as you move on to tackle your next fear-challenge.

Conclusion

If you want more in life, make it a point to challenge yourself--challenge your fears--more often.  But make sure to have fun doing it, so that the challenge is a reward in and of itself.

So tell me, what fear are you challenging today?

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