By Randy Gilbert
This is the last article in a series answering the question, "How do we overcome our fears?"
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world."
If I can help you to learn how to overcome the fears that defeat you and hold you back from the success and abundance that you deserve, then I will have done my job.
We learned in the first two articles, that in order to proactively rid yourself of your fears, you need to remove the "three ignorances" that cause your fears.
The first ignorance to overcome is "not knowing enough about the thing you fear." We naturally fear the unknown. However, instead of letting the unknown paralyze us, we can use it to direct our learning. Our proactive mantra is, "You can learn anything you need to know to remove any fear."
The second ignorance to overcome is "not knowing how to control the thing you fear." Emerson said, "Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain." When you hear yourself saying, "But I've never done that before," your proactive response should be, "There is always the first time."
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The Third Ignorance
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Now, the third ignorance to overcome is "not knowing what motivates you to rid yourself of your fears."
Every achievement starts with some type of motivation. You can accomplish anything so long as you have enough reasons for why you should. There is a lot of truth in the old saying, "Where there is a will, there is a way."
We are all motivated in different ways.
How are you motivated?
While you are thinking about that question, let me tell you a story about a chipmunk that overcame its fear.
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The Chipmunk Who Overcame Its Fear.
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My daughter and I were sitting on the front steps cooling down and talking after an early morning run, when suddenly, a chipmunk came scampering toward us and zoomed into the flowerbed at our feet. That was very unusual I thought. Chipmunks are usually running away from us.
What made it do that? What motivated that little chipmunk to scamper toward people whom it feared?
As suddenly, a fox came bounding out of the bushes, just moments behind the chipmunk.
Aha! A fox had motivated that little chipmunk to run toward us. Although it normally feared people, it recognized the advantage of overcoming its fear. Upon seeing us, the fox stopped in its tracks, then turned around and slunk back into the bushes.
Now back to the question.
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What motivates you?
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Whatever it is that motivates you, USE IT!
If you are motivated by moving toward a reward, then find the best reward and use it to slay your fears. Is it competition? Then find a competitor and run like the wind. Is it love? Then learn how to use the energy of that love to help you overpower your fear.
Some people are motivated by moving away from a penalty, like the chipmunk running from the fox. My daughter says that is why she likes an audience. Not wanting to look bad in front of them really motivates her to do her best. Some people need strict deadlines to motive them.
If you need a fox chasing you, then find a fox and let it chase you until you have leaped past your fear.
You must learn what motivates you to take action. Then, use it to help rid yourself of your fears.
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The best motivator is your definite major purpose.
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Working toward your major purpose gives you a passion for what you do. When work becomes its own reward, success is sure to follow. It gives you the willpower to overcome your fears.
A few years ago I was working in the Coast Guard, but it lacked personal congruence; which is mind, body, and spirit enthusiastically moving together. I read a couple of books that set me on a quest. It is a mission that I highly recommend to you. I decided to find what it is that I was meant to do.
Finding my major purpose helped me rid myself of my fear of leaving a stable and comfortable job for an unknown career of writing, speaking, and consulting.
Doing what you love gets you working eagerly and joyfully. It gives you courage and energy. When you have a burning desire to accomplish your dreams and goals - then you will want to overcome your fears and turn them into advantages.
Motivate yourself to "run toward your fears," and soon your fears will be replaced by success and abundance.
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About the Author - Randy Gilbert is the author of SUCCESS BOUND, from which portions of this article are extracted. Randy is highly regarded as an authority on Proactive Thinking, which is why he goes by the name "Dr. Proactive." You can contact him at Randy@DrProactive.com. To read summaries of each chapter, see the reviews of other authors and leaders, or to buy his new book go to
http://snurl.com/rgilbert.
Copyright 2001 by Randy Gilbert. Permission is granted to copy, reprint, or host this article on a website, so long as the entire article is used and the author's name and contact information remain unchanged, and "Used by permission" is denoted.
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