Fear is a dream killer. It drains the energy you need to work towards realizing various dreams or goals. That’s what stops you from asking your boss for a promotion, starting a business, quitting a toxic marriage, or traveling the world.
Harmless as it might appear, this phobia of success will make you abandon even your wish list’s most achievable dream. That’s why it matters to drop the aversion and go after those good dreams on your wish list.
This post furnishes you with the secrets needed to liberate yourself.
What is fear, and how does it keep you from Realizing Dreams?
Fear is an intense physiological response to stressful situations. It keeps you alert when dealing with things that can harm you. While this instinctual predisposition helps you avoid harm, it can keep you in a comfort zone forever.
That’s the point you need to tame it. In most cases, ‘bad’ fear exists in the form of imagined risks, failures, or difficulties. For instance, if you plan to travel the world, fear will make you think it is a waste of time, money, and other resources.
Though it can be hard to detect, you can always know when fear strikes. How? You will have several excuses to discourage you from working towards achieving your goals. The excuses come along with procrastination and self-sabotage.
Besides the excuses, you will feel stressed and anxious when encountering new responsibilities. You wouldn’t wish to take risks, make sacrifices, and endure losses to achieve those good dreams on your wish list.
5 Secrets to Overcome fear
Overcoming fear is easy. You need to spot it and keep a positive mindset when you begin getting discouraging thoughts. If you do not know how best to overcome it, the following tricks will help you drop that emotional obstacle pushing you away from what you deserve.
1. Surround yourself with the right people
As the saying goes, you become the people you surround yourself with. If you hang around with dream killers, you will always find a way to abandon your dreams to fit in that tribe, gang, or squad. The opposite is true.
For that reason, if you wish to overcome fear, surround yourself with forward-looking peers. They could be friends, family, coworkers, or mentors who have a similar dream. They will push you to achieve your goals, whenever you get stuck.
Besides peers, join clubs and organizations with supportive, like-minded people. In these groups, you will find diverse individuals who will help expand your thinking alongside encouraging you to rise above your self-doubt.
2. Embrace positive thinking
When fear gets into your path, you will always think negatively. Your inner voice will be telling you how impossible it is to achieve dreams and how possible it is to live without achieving those stressful dreams. After all, you are already living without them.
Comforting as they can be, therapists recommend that you stay away from negative self-talk. Instead of pessimism, keep reminding yourself of the good things that will come with achieved dreams.
The positive thoughts will rejuvenate your lost energy and motivate you to work towards actualizing your dreams.
3. Break dreams into smaller goals
The discouragement from fear coupled with unrealistic goals will give a genuine excuse to abandon dreams. Therefore, if you have big plans, break down the project into smaller, easily achievable goals.
The achievable goals will save you from feeling overwhelmed. That way, you will have an easy time making manageable steps to achieve the bigger dream. There will be fewer chances for procrastination.
4. Avoid plan B’s
A Plan B is fear in disguise. The plan will encourage you to retreat to a comfort zone whenever you face obstacles. Therefore, if you have several backup plans for your beautiful dreams, drop them.
Without plan B, you will get the jolt of motivation needed to push through short-term pain to achieve long-term gain. You’ll be forced to find solutions to the obstacles rather than retreat to your comfort zone. In any case, there is no impossible dream.
5. Deal with self-defeating excuses
When faced with the phobia of success, you’ll have several excuses to postpone or abandon your dreams. At times, you will feel like you deserve a break because you are genuinely tired. In other instances, you’d convince yourself that pursuing some goals is a dumb idea.
As valid as the excuses may sound, do not give up. Instead, list down all the excuses that pop up when working on your dream projects. Then, counteract them with a positive mindset. With optimism, you’ll be a step closer to attaining your dreams.
Time to Drop your Fears and Pursue your Dreams
Unmanaged fear can kill your dreams. Often, this intense physiological feeling will discourage you from accommodating the challenges and responsibilities of chasing dreams. Fortunately, fear is manageable. You will need to seek inspiration from like-minded peers and break down the dream into realistic goals. Moreover, you can overcome fear by avoiding excuses and embracing positive thinking.
