HOW TO ATTACK YOUR FEARS
article by Jason Boreyko

“I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do,
provided he keeps doing them until he gets a record of successful experiences behind him.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

HOW TO ATTACK YOUR FEARS:

The fastest way to overcome any fear is to face it. Once you’ve identified your fears and made a commitment to overcome them, you have taken the necessary first step. Think about it like this: imagine you were a general ready to go into battle. If you were to strategically set up your troops, how would you go about it? You’d surround yourself against attack from your enemy and be ready to do battle from any direction. No matter what side the enemy tries to attack from, your defense is in place leaving them with no ability to effectively attack. Conquering your fears is the same thing. You have to render those fears powerless, harmless, and unable to affect you in every way.

Seeing your fears from a clear perspective will help you to defeat them. Ask yourself, “What’s the worst thing that could happen if this fear were realized?” If you truly are going to overcome your fears, whatever they are, you must make a commitment to take the necessary steps to do so. For example, in network marketing, the biggest fear people have is the fear of rejection. They’re afraid that other people won’t want to get involved in their business. Before they try to approach a new prospect, they’ve already convinced themselves that this person isn’t interested, so why bother? Who stole that from them? THEY DID! Before they even had the chance to succeed or fail, they failed by not even trying. They stole their own dream. Why? Because of fear. So how could they have a voided this all too common trap? By not believing their negative self-talk. Think about what fear is costing you. A happy loving relationship? A promotion at work? Starting your own business I used to have a fear of making marketing phone calls, and in my business, that’s the kiss of death. I would have a prospect and a phone number right in front of me and I’d get all ready to make that call. I’d pick up the phone and I’d think, “Boy, this phone is heavy!” But, I started to make those calls, and before I knew it, I had conquered my fear. I realized that the worst thing anyone could say to me was “No.” And that’s not so bad. I realized no one was harming or attacking me. Sure, a few hung up, but that was okay. The simplest way to overcome a fear is to isolate it. Write it down and see what you’re really afraid of. Look at it and read it over and over.

Ask yourself, is this really worth being scared of? Is this little thing really going to keep me from everything I want to accomplish? I know that fear can sometimes be paralyzing, but making a commitment to overcome that paralysis takes dedication, determination, and practice. Christopher Reeves has made a commitment that he will walk again. He has set that as his goal and has a five year time frame in which to reach his dream: to stand and move on his own two feet. That takes courage. That takes commitment. Overcoming his paralysis is a severe example of what can be accomplished if a person sets his or her mind to it. Doesn’t picking up the phone seem a little easier than that challenge?

People build up fear to such a point in their minds, that often times their mental perspective is far worse than their physical challenge. Fear brings on a sense of worry. When you’re worrying, you’re thinking negatively. You’re allowing those negative thought patterns to take over your mind and guide your actions. If you’re not worrying, you’re thinking positively, and likewise, allowing your positive thought patterns to lead you toward positive results. You control the outcome of your future. How you create it is determined by the direction you give yourself. Don’t allow fear to become excess baggage. Life is indeed a journey, and we should all be limited to two pieces of luggage.

article written by Jason Boreyko
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