Fear Not!

Fear. It can define you, destroy you, take you over and knock you down. 

It is a natural feeling we all get at times weather you are fearful of snakes, of a work situation, taking a chance or fear of making a mistake. It is our mind telling us no. Telling us that we are not able to do something when in fact we can. We let the stories play out in our mind that we are weak, not enough and often too afraid. 

Most people who know me know that I have deep fear of flying. It started many years ago when I had an emergency landing in a 6 seated plane. The landing gear would not come fully down so we had to land on two wheels instead of three. Although the pilot was very skilled to have gotten us down safely and none of us were hurt, the feeling of fear and being out of control was something that never left flying for me. Recently when trying to fly home from Miami to Connecticut I got off the plane after the pilot told us there was a mechanical issue and they are getting clearance to fly and fix it later. No joke! I spent 8 hours in Miami waiting for another flight. 

I continued to fly. Going to Seattle three times, Jamaica, Mexico, Minnesota, Texas and then my biggest flight was to Italy. 7 months after 9/11. Yes I got on. I knew I had to keep flying. I love to travel and it is the only way to get most places.  I often cannot eat before a flight at all and need headphones with music to distract me. And yes, I need a little something from the doctor as well so I do not vomit from the fear and anxiety. Ah yes.. it still rears it's ugly head. 

But I forge on and continue to take chances. I have too much more to see, more to experience and more to discover. Fear can make you powerless and consuming. It can stop you dead in your tracks unable to move. I never wanted it to stop me from getting where I wanted to go physically or personally in my life. 

Fear is not all doom and gloom. We need it! I am just fine being scared to jump off a building, scared of snakes, of terrorism and other such things. It allows us to live our lives a healthy way too. But when it gets in the way of your daily life is when you must look at fear as being a product of your stories and thoughts. Some people use fear in their relationships, at work with their children. The idea of being intimidating is creating fear in another person. This is not the fear I speak about when we talk about it also being healthy. These are toxic people taking toxic measures. 

I still have bouts of fear about certain situations and people, but am working constantly on the stories I tell myself surrounding the circumstances and talking myself out of fear. 

So think about what your fears are. How can you use them to push yourself out of them? How can you overcome your fears to enhance the quality of your life?

Mind over matter? What are your thoughts? Let's hear it!

"Leap and the net will appear"- John Burroughs