Fear

"We have nothing to fear but fear itself " FDR 

Well many of us probably don't feel that way .... I know that I fear more than just fear itself . 

I have had so much on my mind lately ... This whole "happiness project " has led me down a path of self realization and has brought so many things to my attention . One of the things that surprised me most was when I was thinking about what was holding me back from achieving certain goals or stopping me from progressing was actually FEAR. 

I'm afraid to fail again ... I'm afraid to get hurt ... I'm afraid to be rejected and I'm afraid of the unknown ... 

For me this was such a huge eye opener . I had convinced myself that I just wasn't ready for things or the right opportunity had not come along ... The timing was off or I just wasn't interested but what it really boiled down to was fear . 

I decided to reach out to family , friends and co workers to see what their fears were .. Some responded with things like 

*spiders 

*heights 

*yucky food 

*snakes 

*sharks 

*earthquakes 

 While others said 

*the death of a loved one 

*cancer 

*dying young 

*financial ruin 

*being alone

*business ventures 

*relatuonships  

*watching my children fail 

But the most common answer were 

*Failure & disappointing others 

I found that very interesting that so many of us are so afraid to Fail. What is failure and who determines if you do ? 

Is it society ? Religion ? Our peers and loved ones ? 

I know that the opinion of my family and friends mean a lot to me ... Disappointing them is one of my biggest fears ... But what I find funny about that statement is what would I really have to do to fail them ? What would I have to do to truly disappoint them ? 

Fear is not what I want directing my path ... So I am challenging my fears and taking a closer look as to why I actually feel that way and what I'm actually trying to avoid . 

Someone is not going to come along and  take all the worry away ... No one can change the way I think and feel but myself . I'm taking the power away from my fear and really focusing on facing the problems head on .... Not sure how successful I will be and there's even potential for failure ... But one thing I can say for sure is that all of my "failures " have taught me something and all of the disappointments and my bad choices have made me a more forgiving and humble person . My family has never left my side and I've never felt closer to my friends ... So maybe FDR was right ... Maybe The only thing to fear is fear itself ... 

I'm making efforts to be a happier better version of myself and plan to not let fear stop that . Wish me luck ... It's going to be a long road .... But it's worth the time and I need the exercise ;)