Fear Not

As I thought of what to write today, the subject of ‘Fear’ came to mind. I had a lot of catchy titles for my post but when I woke up this morning, the two words that came to mind were, “Fear Not”.

Fear is an emotion that we all feel. It can range from rational to irrational and from occasional to all of the time.

We can use fear to our advantage or we can be so paralysed by fear that it takes all advantages away from us.

Some fears are healthy and others aren’t. Fear is an emotion that exists for our protection and safety but quite often, we fear ‘Fear’ because it stops being a positive thing.

Growing up, I was aware of my parents being fearful for our lives. This fear was not ill-placed for various reasons. One day, I felt I had a choice to make — continue to live in fear or stop.

My parents sent us to Sunday School and we were taught about a God who was all powerful, all knowing and ever present. Something clicked in my young brain and I decided only God could guarantee my protection.

So I made a bold declaration and told my parents never to worry about me again. I made an argument that man could not protect me, so I was hedging my bet with this God that I had heard about.

Another fear I had growing up was fear of the dark and imagining there were things hiding under my bed. I remember taking a torchlight to bed and each time the fear would come, I would shine my light into that dark room, check under the bed only to realise there was nothing to fear.

Before I learnt to drive, I had a fear of being left in a car with its engine running. Somewhere in my mind, I would imagine the car as ‘self-driving’ and engaging itself with me at its mercy.

This fear was because I didn’t know enough about cars and felt out of control. Once I learnt to drive, it disappeared.

We all face fear but it’s what we do with the fear and what we allow that will determine the outcomes. So here are some thoughts:

Voice your fears

Denying your fears doesn’t make them go away. Learn to voice them. My late father voiced one of his fears which was what would happen to his family if he died too soon.

This led to him focusing his undivided attention on our education, personal growth and maturity. He breathed a sigh of relief when my brother and I graduated and started our careers. By voicing his fears and taking actions to address them, he overcame them.

Face your fears

Many fears we have aren’t real and never actually materialise. Shining my torchlight reminded me that my fear of the dark was not real.

One of the ways to deal with our fears is to face them. I once had a fear of public speaking but when I had to do it, I realised I could do it. The more I did it, the less fear I had.

Know yourself

What triggers your fear? Are you a parent scared for your children or were you once in a fearful situation where you felt helpless and trapped? Could your fears be due to what you’re listening to or watching?

Maybe you’ve been out of work and now scared you’ve lost your mojo or you are in work and suffer from an ‘Imposter Syndrome’ where you think you will be found out.

Perhaps you are afraid you won’t be successful in life because of some limitations – perceived or real? Once you take the time to know yourself and dissect those fears, you will find there are some actions that you can take.

Take care of yourself

How well do you protect yourself? Taking care of your spirit, soul and body will help you to better tackle fear. If you feed on fear, stop doing that. If you peddle fear, stop it.

Many fears that people have are delivered through the media – social or news. Weigh the messages you receive and ask some questions including, is this true? Is this positive? Is this a good report? What benefit is this to others?

Make the choice to squash the root of fear.

Personally I find having faith in a God who is bigger than me and bigger than any of my fears is liberating.

Knowing that I am loved means I can trust Him and release my fears into His hands.

Thanks for reading. See you next week when I will be sharing my take on ‘Fear becoming a global epidemic’.