Use Fear and Grow!

By Ann Star

Fear is an emotion we all experience from time to time; however, did you know that you can turn fear into courage? Yes, you can and all it takes is time, effort and a desire to overcome fear.

There are several steps in changing fear into courage and they are: accepting it, identifying it, feeling fear, facing it and then practicing fear. First, to convert fear into courage, you must accept feeling afraid. Everyone on this earth experiences fear. How you handle threatening feelings, is basically what you will accomplish in life. It is how you deal with fear; that is the main ingredient in how you will live your life.

Second, identify threatening feelings. To turn these negative feelings into courage, you have to be honest with yourself when you are fearful. Look at areas in your life where you are fearful and then look at them as opportunities on how to deal with fear.

Third, in order to deal with this negative feeling in an honest way, you must feel the feeling. Don't try to analyze fearfulness or try to find out what caused the feeling.This does no good. Instead of trying to analyze why you are feeling afraid, feel it. Once you feel the emotion, then you will be prepared to go on to the next step.

Fourth, you need to face the feeling. When you face the feeling of being afraid, you overcome those awful feelings that are associated with this emotion-an increase in your heartbeat or feeling shaky or trembling in your body. When you face your fears, you can move on with your life and become more courageous and happy.

Of course, there are times when feeling afraid should not be ignored, especially if it is life-threatening. If that is the case, do what you can to protect your life and then get the help you need. But, if you are not in eminent danger, then face you fear. When you face something that is holding you down, like an obnoxious neighbor or a person at work who pushes all of your negative emotions, look those people in the eyes, say what you need to say and move on. Your courage will grow and your life more happy and enjoyable.

The fifth step is to practice it. Think about facing and confront fear as a skill--something you practice and get better at. It is a lot like playing tennis or learning how to write an essay. The more you practice it, the better you will feel and soon you will feel less fear and more courageous.

To conclude, being afraid is an emotion we all experience from time to time; however, did you know that you can turn fear into courage? You can; all you need to do is follow the above suggestions, practice the suggestions and soon you will be less fearful and more courageous.