| operations |
| comment | | "parent_author":"",<br>"parent_permlink":"self-help",<br>"author":"mindover",<br>"permlink":"the-enemy-is-fear-destroy-the-enemy",<br>"title":"The Enemy is Fear - Destroy the Enemy",<br>"body":"<p><img src=\"https:\/\/i.imgsafe.org\/ca3c27f394.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cThe enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but,<br> it is fear.\u201d \u2013 Mahatma Gandhi<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I jolted awake in a cold sweat.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t subtle. It was the violent,<br> heart pounding kind of awake. And it wasn\u2019t the first time,<br> either.<\/p>\n<p>I had already woken up four times in the last six hours,<br> each time in a full panic,<br> my ears ringing like a siren.<\/p>\n<p>You see a week earlier I was diagnosed with a rare and incurable chronic illness called Meniere\u2019s disease and I had finally taken the diuretic my doctor had prescribed. But it wasn\u2019t going well. My symptoms hadn\u2019t improved at all and now I wasn't sleeping either.<\/p>\n<p>The diuretic woke me up every hour or two.<\/p>\n<p>I relieved my bladder and got back in bed. It was 8:30 in the morning. I knew I should just get up,<br> but I was so afraid.<\/p>\n<p>My mind raced as a terrifying thought bounced around my brain,<br> "My life is over."<\/p>\n<p>Meniere's disease isn't fatal,<br> but it can completely ruin your quality of life when you don't have a handle on the symptoms. And I stayed at home for days,<br> not because I felt sick,<br> but because I was paralyzed by fear,<br> too afraid to participate in life.<\/p>\n<h1>The Destructive Nature of Fear:<\/h1>\n<p>Fear can tear you apart.<\/p>\n<p>But more often than not,<br> it just keeps you from achieving your goals.<\/p>\n<p>Most people at least have a vague sense of what they want out of life,<br> to be successful at business,<br> to travel,<br> and love,<br> and have a family.<\/p>\n<p>But fear has a way of wedging itself between you and your plans.<\/p>\n<p>The unexpected always happens.<\/p>\n<p>Meniere's disease turned my life upside down,<br> and while health may not be the issue for you,<br> it will be something. And with it will always be the fear.<\/p>\n<p>But fear can be a useful tool. When wielded properly,<br> fear can bring clarity into your life.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is that most of the time our fears are undefined. We rarely stop to take a close look at what we're so afraid of,<br> to bring it into focus.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the uncertainty that drives our anxiety.<\/p>\n<p>In his best-selling book,<br> \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/4-Hour-Workweek-Escape-Live-Anywhere\/dp\/0307465357\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470927023&sr=8-1&keywords=four+hour+work+week\" rel=\"noopener\">The Four Hour Workweek<\/a>\u201d,<br> author and human performance guru Tim Ferriss describes his approach to conquering fear.<\/p>\n<blockquote><strong>\u201cTo do or not to do? To try or not to try? Most people will vote no,<br> whether they consider themselves brave or not. Uncertainty and the prospect of failure can be very scary noises in the shadows. Most people will choose unhappiness over uncertainty.\u201d<\/strong><\/blockquote>\n<p>Tim argues that by clearly defining your fear in explicit detail,<br> you can reach your goals and achieve your dreams,<br> whether in health,<br> business,<br> life or otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>If you ever find yourself in a situation where you're afraid to take action,<br> Tim offers a simple exercise to try called Fear Setting.<\/p>\n<h1>Conquer your fear with the Fear Setting exercise:<\/h1>\n<p>Grab a pen and a piece paper and divide the paper into three equal columns.<\/p>\n<p>In the first column,<br> write down everything that could possibly go wrong if you were to take the action you\u2019re considering. Be explicit. Define the worst possible scenario in as much detail as possible.<\/p>\n<p>In the second column,<br> list all the ways you can prevent each item in the first column from happening. What steps can you take ahead of time to eliminate negative outcomes?<\/p>\n<p>Finally in the third column,<br> describe how you could recover from each scenario you described in the first column. If your worst fears came true,<br> how could you bounce back? Could you turn it to your advantage? At the very least,<br> describe how you could move forward with your life.<\/p>\n<p>To take it a step further,<br> an interesting twist on this exercise is to face your fear with an expectation of failure. Assume that everything will go wrong and decide what your next move will be. Given these new circumstances,<br> what steps can you take to make sure you will still live a life of satisfaction and purpose? Make a concrete plan of what you will do after the situation inevitably blows up in your face.<\/p>\n<p>It's a remarkable way to think about fear. With this approach,<br> you'll always have a positive outcome.<\/p>\n<p>If nothing goes wrong,<br> then you will have far exceeded your expectations. Otherwise,<br> everything will have gone according to plan and you will know exactly what to do next.<\/p>\n<h1>Conclusion:<\/h1>\n<p>By bringing your fears into focus,<br> you will start achieving your goals and drastically reduce your anxiety.<\/p>\n<p>Also,<br> remember that disappointment is transient. Our lives are an endless cycle of ups and downs. No matter how bad things may seem,<br> no matter how afraid you are,<br> things will eventually improve.<\/p>\n<p>But by defining your fears,<br> you can start to take action sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n<p>You can take steps,<br> right now,<br> to improve your situation. You can choose to face your fear. You can decide today to never give up.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Edison once said,<br> \u201cWhen you have exhausted all possibilities,<br> remember this: you haven\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There is always so much hope.<\/p>\n<p>The obstacles in your way will never be bigger than your dreams.<\/p>",<br>"json_metadata":" \"tags\":[\"self-help\",<br>\"life\",<br>\"writing\",<br>\"steemit\",<br>\"philosophy\" ,<br>\"image\":[\"https:\/\/i.imgsafe.org\/ca3c27f394.jpg\" ,<br>\"links\":[\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/4-Hour-Workweek-Escape-Live-Anywhere\/dp\/0307465357\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470927023&sr=8-1&keywords=four+hour+work+week\" " | | vote | "voter":"mindover",
"author":"mindover",
"permlink":"the-enemy-is-fear-destroy-the-enemy",
"weight":10000 |
|