How to Eliminate Fear

Hey Internet!

Are you happy? No, I mean REALLY happy. You know that unstoppable joy that just permeates your entire soul. That whatever is happening, you may be shaken but never stirred? Many of us are just not happy. Simply put. We just float through life’s drudgery, from one mindless, soulless routine to the next. Alive but not living.

There are many aspects to happiness but I’d like to touch on one not often covered and rarely linked to happiness. Fear.

Fear is one of the fundamental emotions that creates a chasm between living your dreams (happiness) and stagnating (just existing). It’s been often said that we are born with only a couple of fears. Most our fears we acquire as we experience life and our minds links certain feelings (joy, sadness…fear) to these experiences. Fear however was designed to be a survival mechanism. Like when a car is careening down the road at you. Fear is what kicks you adrenaline into full gear and gets you out of the way. This fear I speak of is unhealthy fear, a survival mechanism gone wrong. Most of these fears are not even rational in the real world sense. What is the number one fear people have? Public speaking.  Not dying, not drowning…public speaking. We have fear of losing it all; fear of what others might think; fear of being less than enough. Fear of heights; fears of spiders etc. Fears comes in many forms.

Here is an acronym for fear you should always remember. Fear is: FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL. It’s what your mind has associated with the thing and not necessarily the reality of the thing. Going on a cruise DOES NOT necessarily mean you’re going to drown.

Fears are the result of not having faith. Not having confidence in yourself or a thing. Sometimes it’s even a result of control issues. You fear a certain situation because you feel that while in that situation you have no control over the outcome and that scares you. But what fear really does is sabotage us and creates an alibi for not living. So, my fear of drowning means my whole family or all of my girlfriends are going on an amazing Caribbean cruise and I refuse to go because I may drown…on a cruise ship. Hmmm?

Don’t let your fears stand in the way of your dreams and living life because nothing is more PAINFUL than regret. Whatever it may be where ever the fear may be…look it in the eyes and take it on full force. You need to face fears as a step in unleashing happiness. When you face your fears, you access the power that is within you that has been shoved deep down inside over time by situations. Its liberating. When you conquer that thing that has had your stomach in knots for years you feel like a giant. Unstoppable. And now your spirit is open to take on anything.

So what are you afraid of? Look it in the eye and take it on. You’re bigger than it!

I dare you. I double dog dare you to live. I dare you to create a ritual for yourself and go out once a month, let’s say the first Friday of every month. We’ll call it “Fear Free Friday” and do something that scares you. Seriously. Maybe skydiving or caving?

Or maybe just go out and do something new every month to expose you to life. We can call it “First Free Fridays” the day you explore being free. Free from limitations. Free to live.

For my Friday ritual I go on Meet Market Adventures. It’s a travel and adventure group for singles. Truthfully you don’t reeeeally have to be single. He have various activities like indoor and outdoor climbing, skydiving, scuba lessons, fencing. They have simple things like Italian cooking lessons, this list goes on and on. For me I’ve incorporated the two. I try to do something new every month and when a something pops up on meet market that would scare my butt off, I choose that and battle the demon!

Live on PURPOSE!