FEAR – Getting Past It…

Old Man watching as time passes him by
Old Man watching as time passes him by

FEAR. There’s no getting around it. There is no getting away with it. It’s there all around you all the time. What does it do? Fear? Fear keeps you from accomplishing all the things in life that you want to do, like learning to play an instrument or playing your instrument by ear. Or even starting a business or writing a blog or even composing a song or two. Yes. Fear is the thing that keeps us back.

Now that we know what it does, we need to define what it is. Fear is (drum roll) False Evidence Appearing Real. I know this is true because I’ve always wanted to write a book about playing music by ear (or even blogging about it). I am scared that no one would read it. I am scared that no one would buy it. I’m scared that it wouldn’t help anybody. Sometimes I’m scared that I would not know what to say or lay it out in a logical manner so that people would follow. These are some of the things that I am fearful of.

So the question is, Now that we know what fear is and what fear does, what do we do about it. In my opinion, knowing is half the battle. I believe that when you can identify your issues, you are able to develop strategies to mitigate your problems. In order to combat FEAR, you have to have FAITH. Faith is the opposite of FEAR. There are also practical things that you can do to combat FEAR in your life and replace it with HOPE and FAITH.

So here is a list of things that I found on www.mindbodygreen.com that explains 5 coping stategies on combatting fear. I have adopted them for myself, and I hope you will too:

  •  Gratitude List – Make a list of the things that you are grateful for and be very grateful for all the opportunities that you are afforded along the way.
  • Positive Affirmations – Keep positive thoughts with you at all times. For example, when you feel a fear coming on, you use a mantra to keep you going – Make “I Can Do This” one of your mantras to keep you pushing towards the goal.
  • Have a Goal or Objective – Write it down in a VERY Visible Place and keep it in mind whenever you are concerned about fear.
  • Chunk It Up – Divide your task into smaller chunks – For example if you are thinking of writing a book, break the whole project down into smaller chunks. So that you write one chapter at a time instead of the whole book at once.
  • Enlist Help – Get a close Friend to help keep you on track

The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. Keep on stepping and leave your fear behind. And remember to always Keep On Playing It By Ear.

3 thoughts on “FEAR – Getting Past It…”

  1. It is baffling, even frustrating, that fear can be a constant companion no matter what age a person is. Thank you for your common sense, simple, and manageable approach to conquering it.

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