by Saajidah Esat
I was inspired to write this article because of a book I am reading (for the second time). The title of the book is ‘Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway’ by Susan Jeffers. Fear comes up in our lives regularly and contrary to the belief that feeling fearful is a sign of weakness or lack of courage, this book enforces the fact that fear is a very normal emotion. It also offers great tips on how to act in spite of fear, when you are most likely to experience fear and a unique perspective on turning pain into power.
I would like to share a few of the Fear Truths with you (as discussed in the book), and offer a personal explanation on them.
Fear Truth 1: The fear will never go away as long as I continue to grow
I love this statement because it connects FEAR to GROWTH. For the longest time we have linked fear to disempowering words such as scared, weak, unable, overwhelmed or even paralyzed. As children we were told things like ‘be careful’ instead of ‘be strong’. We were told to stick to what we know instead of to venture out and take risks. It’s no wonder that most of us feel fear and are even crippled by it, when placed in unfamiliar territory, or when we have to do things that make us feel uncomfortable. As long as we continue to progress or strive towards bigger and better goals, we will feel fearful. It would be more beneficial to us to accept fear and embrace it as part of our life experience, and most importantly, view it as a large part of our growth.
Fear Truth 2: The only way to get rid of the fear of doing something is to go out and do it
Do what scares you most. And this does not mean the HUGE things that scare you most. Instead, start with the small things that scare you. For example, reaching out to a potential customer, going to a movie alone or attending your first public speaking class. Taking the first step towards doing something that scares you, is often the hardest step. As you keep taking action, and training yourself to get comfortable doing the things that previously made you uncomfortable, the fear will begin to fade away. Be patient with the process of turning fear into a friend.
Fear Truth 4: Not only am I going to experience fear whenever I’m on unfamiliar territory, but so is everyone else
I skipped the third fear truth because I felt that this one resonates with me more. Fear can cause you to feel isolated and alone. It can be so overpowering and lead you to believe that you are the only one dealing with it. However, this could not be further from the truth! Anyone that is human can and will experience fear at some point. The only thing that sets us apart, is that our fears may be different. Remember, you’re not alone when you’re dealing with fear and there are ways to turn fear into a more positive experience in your life.
If you would like to learn the techniques to do this, I would definitely recommend that you get yourself a copy of Susan Jeffer’s book. If you know someone who is struggling with the fear of doing something, go out and get them a copy.
Here’s to feeling the fear and doing it anyway!
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To your happiness and well-being,
Saajidah
Saajidah Esat is passionate about empowering women to take responsibility for their physical and emotional well-being. She has authored a book on The Science of Happiness and has co-authored a book on Clean Eating. Spreading awareness on these 2 topics is what she spends most of her time doing. Her background is in teaching, and while working with young children, she discovered how stress and anxiety in the home deeply affects children. This is when she made it her mission to educate women and families on the importance of well-being, mindfulness, meditation, eating well, practicing self-love, emotional resilience and much more. Her philosophy on women is “You can’t pour from an empty cup, so always take care of yourself first.” Saajidah hopes to use her passion and energy to make an impact globally with her work in advocating happiness, well-being practices as well as encouraging female leadership, in order to balance the scales of inequality that still exist between men and women.
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