Don’t Let Fear Hold You Back

Fear is a basic human emotion that everyone experiences in their life and I decided a long time ago that I will not let my fears predict or even hinder my future accomplishments. So that is why every day, I try to face my fears take a deep breath and kick ass. Honestly, I try not to let fear hold me back or affect my performance negatively because I have grown to understand that often times we over exaggerate the severity of the things we fear. Obviously, fear is beneficial as it helps protect us in dangerous emotional and physical situations and it forces us to take calculated risks. But aside from these life-threatening situations, fearing life experiences such as failure and criticism shouldn’t stop you from performing at your best.

Change Your Perspective About Failure

Just think about how much we could achieve if we simply faced our fears and took the plunge. For example, one of my deepest fears is a failure in regards to school and my career. Obviously, nobody likes to fail but everyone will experience failure in their life. Therefore, I personally always try to make failure into a positive learning experience. This change in perspective has been very helpful in overcoming failure, learning from negative experiences and growing as an individual.

Furthermore, you can’t expect to go through life without a single failure, that is unrealistic. Personally, I have failed numerous times in my life and through those experiences, I have been able to grow exponentially. In addition, some of my most devastating failures have helped me learn important life lessons while making me the person I am today. Therefore, although failure can be overwhelming, it is what you do after a failure that will change your life. If you want to accomplish your goals you must utilize lessons and experiences from failures to learn and fight back.

Overcome Your Fears Today

So if you have ever felt like it was impossible to face one of your fears, here is some inspiration from my personal journey. The following examples are some of the fears that I have been able to overcome in my life and I hope it inspires you to do the same.

1. Fear of Failure

   Fear: I have had to retake University calculus three times in my life.
   Outcome: I didn’t give up on my dream to graduate University, therefore I stuck with it and now I have one semester left until I graduate with my Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing.

2. Fear of Judgement

   Fear: I received a severe concussion in high school and I am still being affected by it today. One fear that I developed in regards to this situation is that people will judge me based on my personal challenges and difficulties due to this injury.
   Outcome: I am constantly trying to remind myself to be grateful for my recovery, stop overthinking and ignore the judgment of people who don’t know my story. This is an ongoing process and fear that I am coping with but through reflection and gratitude, I have grown to accept my challenges and be grateful for my wonderful life and future.

3. Fear of Public Speaking

   Fear: When I was growing up I used to be afraid of public speaking which I am sure many other people can relate to.
   Outcome: Over the years, I forced myself to become a better public speaker and communicator because I understood the benefits of communication, captivating an audience and articulating ideas. Additionally, public speaking has become one of my communication preferences and strengths and I continue to improve.

Are You Ready To Conquer Your Fears?

Basically, I have many fears which I am sure a lot of you do as well. But at the end of the day, I force myself to overcome my deepest fears and accomplish my personal goals. So one piece of advice I can give you about fear is that it is important to remember that you aren’t the only one experiencing it, everyone is fighting their own internal battles. So always remember that you aren’t the only one on this fear-filled journey and conquering your fears are often the first step in accomplishing your goals.

I originally wrote a short version of this post on my Instagram page because I was nominated for the #IAMFEARLESScampaign. But I enjoyed the final copy so much that I decided to expand it and make it into an actual blog post. 

In addition, if you found this article inspiring then read my blog post called, “Difficult Situations Can Help You Grow As An Individual“.