Can I stop being afraid? or, How I overcome fear.

This is about the longest I’ve put off writing another post. Part of me thinks it’s because I’m sick of writing about fear. Another, more sensible part of me, thinks it’s because I’m scared of finally putting my thoughts on it into words.

I’m going to come right out and say it: I don’t like being afraid. It’s not a good feeling. I like security. I like consistency, loyalty, reliability. I like knowing what tomorrow will bring. I like going into most every situation knowing what to expect.

I’ve said it before that fear is a good thing because it shows you that you care about something enough to be afraid of not getting good results.

But being afraid sucks, you say. Can’t I just live not being afraid of anything?

Sure. It’s called living in your comfort zone, and it’s something we do pretty much every day. It’s what enables some of us to give a speech in front of 500 people and never flinch. It’s what allows some of us to score that game-winning goal, grill that steak with your eyes closed, or simply, to dance.

Here’s the kicker: you were not born great at those things. You became great. And becoming great is the exact same thing as expanding our comfort zone. 

So yes, if you don’t want to be afraid, go ahead and don’t try anything new. But if you want to be great, fear is part of the experience. How will you appreciate the satisfaction of being awesome if you’ve never known the uncertainty of being afraid?

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to attempt a stir fry.

                                                                                                                                        

Editor’s note: This post is much shorter than the others by about half. This is because I’m a bit sick of writing about fear. Thinking about it for such long periods of time leaves me with a weird sense of dread.

Look, you’re going to get scared and it’s going to suck. Fear hates it when you start your work. Start it. Fear hates it when you keep doing your work. Do it. Fear hates it when you gather enough courage to publish that paper or serve those cookies. Publish it, and serve them. Fear hates it when we take feedback and strive to improve. Improve.

In short, fear hates action. Act.

This concludes the three-part series on Fear. Part one on the Fear of Failure can be found here. Part two on the Fear of Success can be found here. Next week, I’ll share my thoughts on self-motivation, a topic requested by a good friend. If there’s a topic you’d like me to cover, please let me know in the comments below, or on Twitter @JeremyDeMello.