In this video and article I will be discussing the root of fear and I will offer some techniques that you can use to overcome fear, right now in your life.
MORE VIDEOS ON FEAR
First off I would like to discuss the root of fear.
ActiveBeat.com states it, “Fear is said to be the most powerful emotion known to humankind. More powerful even than love. Our very survival depends on it. Fear is triggered in the most primitive part of our brain. The part responsible for alerting and protecting us from danger. Keeping us safe. Keeping us alive. Fear in the form of the fight or flight response to stress originated with our earliest ancestors when confronted with life threatening danger.
When the cave man stumbled into the path of a Saber-toothed tiger his fight or flight response was triggered. His heart rate shot up, pumping oxygenated blood to his muscles, his breathing rate increased, blood was diverted from his brain and organs to supply his muscles, and adrenaline was released into his bloodstream. All these things occurred so that he could either fight the tiger or run for his life.” That is a quote from ActiveBeat.com
Psychology Today States it this way, “Fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger; it has strong roots in human evolution. If people didn’t feel fear, they couldn’t protect themselves from legitimate threats, which in the ancestral world frequently resulted in life-or-death consequences… In the past, human ancestors feared immediate danger, from volcano eruptions to hungry predators.”
That is a quote from psycolygytoday.com
I believe fear is a natural emotion that was designed by the creator of Universe to help protect living beings from danger and to survive on Planet Earth.
Will still use fear today to protect us for example, when you go to the ATM machine at your bank at night you might feel fear and this is your body making you more cautious and aware of your surroundings. This is a natural response. Or for example, if you are walking down an ally in a rough neighborhood at night, your senses may be activated and your mind may become much more aware looking for possible was to get out of a troubled situation. This is fear.
We no longer have Saber-toothed tigers to contend with today. However in this day and age it’s often our own irrational fears that send us running for cover. There are many types of fears in the world today that people experience on a daily basis ranging from fear of Spiders to the fear of Death. There are many trivial things people fear in life like the fear of flying, the fear of public speaking, the fear of heights and the fear of the dark.
Some more paralyzing things people fear today, which are quoted from ActiveBeat.com here, are more like, fear of failure (Like fearing you are going to loose your job or that you are going to fail your classes in college.) Many people fear commitment or intimacy (People with this fear often had dismissive or rejecting parents who were unable to fulfill their childhood needs for safety and security. Another fear people have is the fear of rejection (Fear of rejection is a deep seated human fear that can be especially problematic. Humans long to be accepted and this basic primitive need is entrenched in our very survival as a species. Children who grow up in dysfunctional families may go to unhealthy extremes to be accepted by romantic partners or peers. They usually suffer from low self-esteem and fear being ostracized or rejected. They imagine catastrophic consequences as a result of not fitting in. The fight or flight response to stress may be triggered, causing them to take dangerous risks or go to extremes to avoid being rejected by their social circle. Many people fear dying or that they may become physically ill and become immobile or paralyzed. (Tragically, for some the fear of their future demise can be so overwhelming that they forget to live in the now.) All of this is just fear!
So knowing that we all have fears in our life, you may ask the question, “So what I am to do about it, and how can I get rid of fear???” Although you may never completely get rid of fear in your life, I would like to offer a few techniques that you can use to start overcoming fear, right now in your life.
These techniques are quoted from WakeUpCloud.com.
Become aware of your fears. “Before you can begin overcoming fear, you have to be aware that your fears are causing havoc in your life. It’s easy to get so attached to your thoughts and feelings that you think they are all that exist, which couldn’t be further from the truth. You are not your fears. You are the awareness that experiences it.”
Identify your fears. “Get specific about what exactly you’re afraid of. Look at the pictures you have in your head about the situation. What is happening in them? What are you really scared of? Become an observer of your inner space.”
Get in the now. “What are you lacking right now? When you center yourself in the now, you realize that everything is how it is. You naturally accept what is. Tapping into the now can be as simple as feeling your body and breath. My favorite book on the subject is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.”
Become grateful. “Whenever you feel fear, switch it over to what you are grateful for instead.”
Take Action. “I’m an action taker, and I know that fears are just fears. They are created by my imagination to make reality seem scarier than it is. When you take action and face your fears, they become weaker, because you realize that reality isn’t nearly as bad as your imagination.”
Become positive. “Whenever fear strikes, flip it over. Instead of thinking of something bad that can happen, think of something positive. What’s a positive outcome to your fear? If you’re thinking about public speaking, imagine yourself being wildly successful instead of failing horribly. “
Get into perspective. “Learning to deal with fear is all about putting your negative thoughts in perspective. We tend to focus too much on the negative, so by looking at all the options, you often realize that you’re making a big deal of nothing. There are so many things that can happen that it’s impossible for you to predict. We aren’t psychics.”
Surrender to your fears. “Surrendering to what is powerful, because as long as we try to change what is, we are in war with reality.’
Release Control. “We want to learn how to control fear. We want predictability, even though it’s impossible to get. Where we don’t have control, we experience fear. But is it possible to ever have control? Even if you can swim, you can drown. A professional guitar player can still make mistakes and butcher a gig. Give up the illusion of control, and you’re free.”
Help others. “Be kind to others. If you’re shy, focus on helping people instead of being self-conscious about how you look or sound when you talk. Flip it on other people and make yourself feel good.”
Find a meaning to your fears. “I believe we all go through things for a reason. That includes the fears we have. It also includes overcoming fear and learning the lessons that come out of it. This may not be the case 100% of the time, but when I look back at the challenges and fears in my life, I see that more often than not, they delivered exactly the message I needed at that time.”
Explore Your Roots. “What is the root of your fear? This may require some meditation. Look inside and ask yourself when the fear started. If you’re afraid of public failure for example, when did it happen? Where you shamed in public when you were younger?”
Lastly just be still and breathe. “Your breath can set you free. It can anchor you in the now and help you vanquish and overcome your most pervasive fears.”
So to conclude, understanding that fear is a natural emotion that was designed to protect us from danger, we come to an understanding that we may never completely get rid of fear in our lives. But we can begin to use some techniques to help us deal with fear in our lives and we can begin to let go of them and not let them control our lives.
Simply take a breath, be still, let go, and be free.
FOOTNIOTES
Psychology Today – Fear - https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/fear
WakeUpCloud.com - 33 Powerful Ways of Overcoming Fear … Right Now
ActiveBeat.com - The 10 Most Common Fear Motivators
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