Sometimes, the barrier that stands between you and a greater potential is fear. This is an imaginary emotion that creeps up and takes over your thoughts. Bits by bits, you become a different person from who you really are. The mistake that most people do is to let this invisible monster take control. Did you know that you can change your situation simply by changing the perception that you have on fear? It is possible and has been successfully achieved time and again.
Understand Your Current Perception on Fear
Fear grows every time to think about it in an inflated manner. By magnifying it, you breathe more power into it and it engulfs an even bigger part of you. Making fear and its bitter fruits, superior inflates it. Your potential subsequently shrinks.
Experts explain fear as a tiny shadow of doubt in yourself. It remains just that until you create a monster out of it. When you give this emotion even a minute of your time in thought, it will definitely take over. Your mind will start judging some of the things you do by its standards. For instance, you will be in constant fright to walk alone at night because of some strange feeling that you cannot even put your finger on. Things that used to be fun for you and your friends all of a sudden become risky affairs. This is what fear does to you once you choose to view it in a magnified way. However, there is hope and it lays in changing your perspective.
How to Successfully Change Your Perception
You can begin by choosing to see fear as it really is, an invasive emotion that can be waved off easily. Take back control over your life. If you normally put a lot of focus on the risks involved in an action before doing it, purpose to change that perception. Most of the times, the risks are non-existent and fear is the mind's way of preventing you from taking part in that particular activity.
Put more focus on the possibilities, acknowledgement and self-confidence that you will benefit from just by participating in that particular activity. For instance, if you have a fear for public speaking, choose not to focus on all the things that could go wrong and instead focus your mind on all the things that are likely to work in your favor during the process. The more you think about the benefits, the more you'll push out the fear and replace it with confidence.
When fear grows in you, it robs you the power to choose the kind of person that you are and whom you want to be. Other people might even brand you as a coward as a result of this phantom emotion. Do not let the fear have an upper hand.
Once you successfully change your perception of the things that scare you, define yourself on your own terms. Sometimes, it helps to stand in front of a mirror and say inspirational words to yourself and internalize them. Tell yourself all the nice things that you've always wanted for yourself. Define yourself as the person that the fear is preventing you from becoming. Say the words out loud and believe them. You may experience great relief and success the more times you say these things to yourself. Crash the fear every time you feel it creeping up on you. Before you know it, fear will be a thing of the past and you will have a brand new opportunity to improve yourself or even claim back the person that you used to be.
Re-gain Control Over your Emotions
Fear works by quickly defining a situation even before you get a chance to decide for yourself. For instance, when you are at the beach, fear will quickly direct your focus on the possibilities of drowning, being laughed at, an embarrassing occurrence happening or your body imperfections being pointed and stared at. All these thoughts are in the mind, but it doesn't mean that they are true. You might not notice the fear being hard at work at that exact moment so you are likely to believe them, pack up and leave.
The more you think about the possibilities of these negative occurrences happening, the more terrified you become. In this case, it is advisable to turn the tables around and grab control over your thoughts. Choose to feed your mind with only the positive and think of positive things such as; how lovely the day will be at the beach, all the new friends that you get a chance to meet, that awesome opportunity to sharpen your swimming skills and learn a few tricks while at it. Choosing to focus on this replaces the space occupied by fear with courage. The more you do this every time you are faced with fear the higher the chances of overcoming the fear.
At times, you might struggle to get the negative thoughts that breed fear in check. In this case, you might want to try out some techniques that are known to work. Close your eyes really tight and envision yourself having fun at the beach. Picture really nice people around you initiating conversation in the hopes of making you their friend, picture yourself laying under the sun getting a perfect tan with a cocktail in your hand as you enjoy the view around you. Allow yourself ample time to digest these happy mental images then slowly bring yourself back to reality. If done correctly, fear will be completely eliminated by this time hence the creating ample room to accommodate new happy thoughts.
The one thing that people fail to notice is that fear makes them bitter and reserved. You unconsciously view life in a negative light because it gives more meaning to your situation. They also deny themselves the pleasantries of life simply because they do not feel like they are worth it. Choosing to change your perspective on and your true identity life and the things that fuel your energy will consequently help you overcome your fear.