Selfalot

Daily Quote: Courage is not the lack of fear but the ability to face it.” Lt. John B. Putnam Jr

There are many ways to face down your fears, not the least of which would be to go to a psychologist or hypnotherapist. Of course there are many times in your life where your fear is about something so little that a visit to a specialist is not really called for.

Having said that there are of course some people who do shuffle off to their therapist at the thought of a situation that they could have some form of anxiety over. But most people do not consider their fears strong enough to require some form of clinical treatment.

That doesn’t mean that those fears are not totally real and in many cases can stop the person from functioning in their lives. However, some smaller ways can be learnt to overcome fears that do not involve going to see a doctor.

One of the easier tricks to learn is to replace the fearful scenario in ones mind with a positive view of the outcome. That is if you are afraid to ask a stranger for directions because you think anybody walking near you will laugh at you because you can’t read a map then rethink the situation and have every person near you absolutely dying to help you find your way.

Anticipate that the world is just ready and waiting, willing and eager to help you on your way. Expect the people to be friendly, open, dying to ask you where you might be from, interested in who you are and why you are visiting their city. In fact they can’t wait to help you. How would you feel about asking for directions then?

Going to evening college to qualify and start a different career? You might be wanting to become an artist and sculptor. Something you’ve always wanted to do but everybody warned you and told you that you would never make a living from it.

What if you imagine yourself producing the most beautiful artwork imaginable. You can see the throngs of people outside the gallery on opening night. You see the red stickers next to your work showing what has been sold even before the doors open. And you read the critics in the paper who are raving about your work.

How would you feel now signing up to that new course? Less fear and a lot more excitement is probably how you would feel then. Imagining a positive outcome to your efforts will help you face down your fears.

It is when we continue to focus on negative experiences and outcomes that we are unable to control our fears. If you are scared of flying and you constantly imagine the wings on fire, the engines stalling and the crash landing happening, you will always be afraid of flying.

However, if you imagine your safe arrival on the other side, the family and friends welcoming you then you will have a much better chance of allaying your fear of flying.

If you cannot think of a positive outcome, then the next trick is to divert your attention away from the situation. If you know you are scared of flying then take a griping book with you to read.

Scared to ask directions? Make sure you have a GPS gadget to help you. Frightened of a new course? Drag a friend with you to give you moral support. Work against your fears. Do not allow them to take hold. And most importantly do not allow your fears to stop you from enjoying your life.