Is Fear a Friend or a Foe?

Borrowing the words from the famous French chemist Marie Curie, "Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." And how true it is. Fear is a very tricky subject to address. Often, fear hinder people from becoming what they are destined to be and from achieving the success they most definitely deserve. Foremost, there is belief and it is one of the keys to attaining success - belief in what you do, belief in the people surrounding you, and above all, belief in yourself. Belief is like life purpose, and there are only two things, it is either you have it or you don't. The number one enemy of empowering belief is none other than fear. Fear paralyzes people in their pursuit of personal purpose and greatness. Fear of what? Well, it could be anything - fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of losing or being beaten, fear of poverty, fear of criticism, and even fear of success, even if it sounds a bit crazy it does exist. Choosing fear over empowering belief is nothing different from choosing to lead a life of unrealized dreams and unfulfilled goals. And in order to reach one's goals, it is important to learn to conquer one's fears. No fear is the elusive key to success. The Fear of the Unknown Man's history dictates that before people get into anything, they had to know what would happen. Some sort of a subconscious "Safety First" check. Eventually, this evolved into the fear of the unknown. The fear of the unknown is the result of people's desire to avoid risks. Risks mean anxiety. To reduce anxiety, people simply avoid the unknown. Confronting the unknown means that you are accepting the challenge that the unknown holds. With self-discipline and genuine belief in oneself, this challenge of facing one's fear of the unknown is indeed conquerable. The Fear of Failure In this day and age in human society when tremendous stress is given on success, successful people are taken as winners while people feel sorry for losers who cannot get ahead in their life. The surest way to conquer one's fear of failure is to overhaul your perspective and understanding of the value of what people usually call as "failure." Failure and success are just two of those things people make up - a simple matter of perspective. So, instead of looking at you failures and shortcomings, try backwards motivation. Acknowledge your successes and not dwell on your losses. Get into the habit of defining each of your actions and their results as successful. Success is a habit that is learned by repetition. It is something that you do over and over and over until you do it without thinking. Failing is something that people need to learn. Everyone gets his or her fair share of failures. The major problem sets in when the person lets this failure mark him and scar him from attempting and pursuing new ventures. How do you intend to conquer this fears that have paralyzed you from realizing your real worth? These might help you. 1. Avoid setting unrealistic expectations. Every now and then, people aspire to be unique in some way, or get ahead over others. Accept that it is very unlikely for one person to be better than all the rest of the world's billions of population. If you feel strongly that you have to be better than someone else over bettering and improving your own, you are doomed to be a constant failure. Having someone better than you come along is inevitable. 3. Overcome pressure. When people start to feel pressured, they get nervous and anxious then tighten up. This will not do you any good. The best thing to do is to shake off the pressure, and put your gears on to prove that you are above any pressure and is all set and ready to claim that success you so deserve. 4. Do not blow up problems out of proportion. Learn to cope. Not giving up is of a vital importance. Learn to fail well. Don't let one rejection disappointment or failure stop you from going after that goal. It is all up to you. You can take fear as a foe and let it overpower you. Or you can treat it as a friend and as an ally to achieve success.