The 3 advantages of fear that no one realises which will help you create the life of your dreams
Fear has a purpose.
It is there to tell you something is wrong and to pay attention. When we pay attention to our fear, we can discover its source. When we realise where fear is coming from, we can take steps to remove the source and improve our lives.
Here are 3 advantages of fear most people don’t realise:
Motivation to Act
Fear can be a powerful motivator, pushing you to take action and make necessary changes.
People are hardwired for comfort. You stay in situations that are not good for you because they’re just comfortable enough that you trick yourself into thinking it’s not as bad as it is. The truth is, changing your circumstances is scary and as long as the situation isn’t too bad, you can ‘tough it out for now’.
It’s the fear of change and the unknown that keeps you stuck but fear can also provide the motivation to take action and create a life that you love.
Thinking about all the things you don’t want in life can be a very powerful tool to change your life.
This exercise is called Fear-Setting.
It works in three steps:
Define the fear
Create a list with the benefits of taking action
Create a list with the consequences of inaction
By using this exercise, you can put your choices into perspective and use your fear to take action towards the life you want.
Problem-Solving and Innovation
Fear can stimulate critical thinking and problem-solving abilities as you seek solutions to avoid or mitigate threats.
This is what happens when you have a mental block on an assignment and leave it to the last minute. All of a sudden, it’s due tomorrow and you haven’t started it. That panic when you think about failing the class can be a very powerful tool to create a project that is unique.
By taking advantage of deadlines and the consequences of not meeting them, you can use fear to create innovative solutions to problems in your life.
Learning and Growth
Facing and overcoming fears can lead to personal growth and increased resilience.
There are many situations in life that you think are scary but once you’ve been through them, you realise they’re not that bad. Job interviews, volunteering in the community, putting your work out online for other people to read. These are all scary situations until you do them and realise that nothing bad happened.
For the same reason people tell you to ‘fail fast’ when you’re trying to learn a new skill, facing our fears allows us to become stronger and make progress towards our goals.
Be afraid
Fear is useful.
Don’t run from it, learn from it.
Use it to better understand yourself and what you want.
Then create a strategy for achieving that outcome.