"Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life."   *-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage but simply because they have never organized their energies around a goal."  *-- Elbert Hubbard 
 

Imagine yourself as a child. It’s the first day at a new school. Your mind is full of fears. Will the kids like me? Will the teacher call my name? Will anyone make fun of me? During school, you try to blend into the crowd and not be noticed. The PE teacher asks the students to pick two teams from your class. Two students start dividing the class into teams. Your heart is pounding. Finally, the last kid is left. No one picks you. You are left alone.

What is holding you back in life? Can you pinpoint the problem? Fear can prevent you from reaching your goals. Fear is the greatest enemy of high performers. Your fears are not logical because they aren’t based on rational thinking. According to one survey, 54 percent of people rank fear of public speaking higher than fear of death. Fear makes you see things in a negative light. It causes you to question your potential and your ability to be successful. You start associating with people who share the same self-limiting beliefs; these relationships help reinforce your negative thoughts. Fear feeds on itself, creating a domino effect in your life. You’re unhappy, but are scared of change. Any change or even attempt to change makes you feel uncomfortable. If the change is far outside your comfort zone, you start experiencing mental and physical breakdown. However, setting goals results in positive changes that you must make in order to succeed.

The consequences of fear are usually negative. Fears and worries are related. They lead to a path of giving up. Inspirational author, Napoleon Hill, writes, “Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do.” Don’t doubt yourself and start building self-limiting beliefs. Don’t have “I can’t” as your motto. Self-limiting beliefs cause you to hold back from doing the things you need to do to reach your goals. It is never too late for courage. In order to move from an unproductive attitude toward a highly successful one, you need to recognize your self-limiting behaviors. Questions to ask yourself:

1. What are my fears?

2. How do I react in the presence of my fears?

3. How does it affect my quest to achieve my goals?

4. Where can I go to get help?

5. What is the benefit of conquering my fears?

You can overcome your fears. Success begins in your mind first. About 80 percent of your success will be determined by what you think. When you overcome your fears, you will move in a positive direction. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Remember that you have only two natural fears, the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. Since all fears are learned by repetition of negative thoughts, you can reverse this trend by repeating small acts of courage in the presence of your fears. Today is the time to live your life fearlessly.

"The world is a great mirror. It reflects back to you what you are. If you are loving, if you are friendly, if you are helpful, the world will prove loving and friendly and helpful to you. The world is what you are."
*-- Thomas Dreier

"Worry is a sustained form of fear caused by indecision."
*-- Brian Tracy - Million Dollar Habits

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