How To Stop Fear From Controlling You

Photo of Woman Writing on Tablet Computer While Using Laptop
Photo by Anthony Shkraba

Tell yourself, “I can do this.” That is how you control fear. You control it by taking action to change things in your life. Fear does not respect talk. Fear respects action. Fear and action cannot coexist. When you take action, fear disappears. According to Alvah Bessie, “Fear is real and there is nothing you can do about it except to keep functioning, keep your hands and legs and body moving, your mind focused on the task at hand.” To get things done, don’t focus on fear. It is there, but do not let it put you in your comfort zone. Do not accept it. Because you are better than your comfort zone. You are here to move, to work, to live, not to get stuck in a rut. Baruch Spinoza said, “Fear cannot be without hope nor hope without fear.” Be hopeful that things will get better. Yes, no one can predict the future. But if you work really hard right now, if you concentrate on the task at hand, you can create your own future. You can do it. Don’t make things hard for yourself. Simplify your life. Make things easy, not difficult. Do what you haven’t done before. Try different things. Do not worry about failure, worry about not doing anything to change your situation. Take on new projects. Meet new people. Stretch your brain. Create thinking time for yourself. Hang out with people who are fearless. When you are always with confident people, your level of confidence will increase. Be around people who are smarter than you are. Above all, “always do what you are afraid to do.”

How To Face Adversity

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Photo by Tim Mossholder

Friedrich Nietzsche famously said, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” Life is not supposed to be without adversity. When you face adversity, when things are not working out for you, when you are struggling to make things happen, do not get frustrated. Remain calm. Focus on what you are doing. Focus on what is going well for you. Do not let temporary difficulties stop you from doing your best work.

Henry Thomas Hamblin said, “It is not possible to have an easy life and, if it were possible, then life would not be worth living, for the sole object of life is the building of character and the attainment of wisdom through experience.”

Adversity advances us. It takes us from where we are to where we want to be. We grow when we overcome obstacles. We grow when we overcome adversity. We grow when we face our fears. We grow when we stretch our muscles.

And if we want to go somewhere, we must face obstacles. We must do what we don’t want to do. We must get out of our comfort zone. Because there is no growth in the comfort zone. It is just that- comfort zone.

When you face difficulties, do not run away from them. Explore what they have in store for you. Explore what you can learn from them. Explore how you can use them to change your life. Explore how you can use them to improve yourself. Without self improvement, you cannot change your situation. To improve yourself is to improve your life. And to improve your life is to live, to achieve greatness.

Do not worry about failure. Worry about improving yourself, your life. And you can’t do that if you are not willing to swim with adversity, if you are not willing to get your hands dirty.

Get your hands dirty. Life will always get your hands dirty. How you choose to handle it is your choice. Because life is all about making choices. So if you want to face adversity, you must be willing to get your hands dirty.