What Are You Afraid Of?

“If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

~ Dale Carnegie

When people encounter me these days, they assume I’ve never been daunted by fear.

They couldn’t be more mistaken!

Most of my life was consumed by fear and, in many ways, I wore fear like the plague. When delivering visual lectures, I like to show a few old photos of me from my past. In this way, others in the audience can not just see, but also feel and relate, to the limiting, isolating and even paralyzing role that fear plays in our lives.

Fear is a commonly experienced, life-draining foe to mankind. It’s the opposite of love and presents a major block to our happiness and peace of mind. 

I often laugh about life’s ironies, occasionally quipping how I went through life “without any novocain.” Anyone who relates to a buzzing dentist drill boring into an open cavity knows exactly what I mean. It is not easy feeling the heightened and often horrifying emotions that accompany our fears. Those fear-based emotions can show up everywhere, causing us to attack others or run for cover to protect our vulnerable sense of self.

For most of us, running for cover means medicating ourselves with habits or activities that mask the pain. Unfortunately, masking the pain causes the original sources of our fears to stick around.

As hard as it’s been to face my own fears, I thought more about getting through them than I did about repeating them! Somehow, I believed that if I avoided my fears, they would return again in slightly revamped scenarios.

At times, I felt brave and took major steps in confronting my fears. At other times, and far more frequently, I’d take the smallest of baby steps to move ahead.

In each case, I reminded myself that these fears would eventually have to pass away — even as I passed through them.

While I still encounter anxieties, much of my former emotional self has passed away. Slowly, progressively I've stepped through the dim clouds of darkness and emerged into a sunnier, brighter day. 

Living Happy Inside Out Podcast on Overcoming Fear

I’m so pleased to offer my latest podcast so that you can take a look at your fears and start passing through them, too.

If you enjoy what you’ve heard, please consider sharing with a friend.

BONUS: Meet Mark Pattison, a former NFL player who turned summit climber to find how what makes him happy from the inside out.

BONUS: Discover how how you can secure a FREE copy of one of my Art of Happiness books.

Click here or below for Podcast 127: What Are You Afraid Of? 

Need a visual on the idea of walking through your fear? Check out this video entitled Lost in a Fog.

Maura is a Speaker on Influence, Leadership and Emotional Intelligence

Subscribe to her Podcasts on iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play

Take Maura’s Happiness Survey

Follow her on Twitter