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Fear can strike at any time, leaving you reeling and unsure how to move forward. You might be standing on the edge of a cliff, about to take a leap into the unknown. Or maybe you’re facing your fears in order to conquer them. Either way, facing your fears can bring you great clarity and help you reach your goals faster. However, this can often come at a cost — self-doubt, insecurity and worry are common side effects of facing your fears. And if you don’t deal with them, they can be nearly impossible to overcome. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up or let fear win. Read on for some tips on how you can find the courage to face your fears instead.
Don’t Beat Yourself Up Over Fears
When you’re afraid of something you’re naturally going to feel self-doubt. But this doesn’t mean you should let your fears stop you from taking action.
You can use this doubt as motivation to work even harder than before.
Instead, try to accept the self-doubt, let it roll around in your mind and don’t beat yourself up for feeling it.
As author and speaker John C. Maxwell eloquently puts it, “Fear will cause us to do things we might not otherwise do, but that doesn’t mean we have to be ashamed of what we do. We’re not going to be great at everything, but we can be decent at something.”
Understand What Causes Fear
Fear is not a bad thing — it’s a protective mechanism that can help you get out of danger.
However, if you don’t understand what causes fear then it can be difficult to address it. So why do we fear things? And how can we stop this from happening?
Fear is primarily an evolutionary response to danger.
For example, if someone in your tribe is threatening to attack you, then your body will respond by thinking “Run!”
However, if you’ve never seen a person being threatened then the concept is abstract. It’s very unlikely that a threat is ever going to happen to you, so the danger isn’t real enough for you to feel fear.
What you can do is identify what scares you the most and use that information to control your fears.
Build a 'Courage Ladder'
One of the best ways to overcome fears is to break them down into smaller steps, so that they feel less intimidating.
This ladder approach can be used to conquer almost any fear, from public speaking to death.
Start by writing out a “Courage Ladder” — a list of as many steps as you can think of that move you closer to your goal.
For example, you might want to write down things like, “Go to the public library and download a book on public speaking,” or “Call a friend from high school to ask them how they’re doing.”
Know Your “Why” is Important
Part of overcoming fear is knowing why you’re doing it in the first place.
Why do you want to overcome your fear? What is your ultimate “why”?
If you don’t have this clear vision in mind, then conquering your fears will be much less satisfying. “Why” is often the part of your journey that is the most challenging and rewarding. And once you have it, almost nothing can stop you.
Set Specific, Realistic Goals
Part of overcoming fear is setting specific, realistic goals.
This can help you focus your energy and stay focused on the end goal — from step one to step ten.
You don’t have to be super ambitious with your goals, but you do need to make them specific and realistic.
For example, if you’re trying to overcome your fear of public speaking, then your goal might be, “I want to give my first speech in front of my class when I graduate.”
This goal is specific, it’s measurable and it’s realistic — it’s also achievable given enough effort.
As author Jack Canfield notes, “Accumulate enough energy and motivation and you can achieve almost anything.”
Conclusion
Facing your fears can bring you clarity and a sense of empowerment. But it may also cause self-doubt, insecurity and worry. You can find the courage to face your fears by identifying what causes them, building a ‘Courage Ladder’ and setting specific, realistic goals.
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